{"id":118533,"date":"2019-05-28T07:53:01","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T12:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=118533"},"modified":"2019-05-29T07:48:26","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T12:48:26","slug":"118533","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2019\/05\/28\/118533\/","title":{"rendered":"Area veterans honored on Memorial Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communities in the area honored citizens who died in military service to maintain the freedoms all Americans enjoy at Memorial Day services held on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wreaths are laid at a memorial in Woodland Cemetery in Van Wert in honor of veterans who died while serving their country. <\/strong>photos by Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Van Wert, veterans and local residents gathered at Woodland Cemetery to honor veterans who died in wars throughout the nation\u2019s history. After the American Legion Riders and color guard began the ceremony, the audience heard a brief thank you from Mayor Jerry Mazur thanking veterans for their service, with U.S. Air Force veteran and Van Wert City Councilman Bill Marshall then speaking about the sacrifices made by veterans — and their families — to keep this country free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall quoted former president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who said: \u201cThose who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men have died to win them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

He also spoke about the anguish that families suffer who have lost loved ones in wartime, noting that 1.1 million Americans, men and women, have died in military service over the nation\u2019s history, while a total of 2.8 million Americans were wounded or missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Air Force veteran Bill Marshall speaks during Memorial Day services in Van Wert on Monday.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese numbers should truly humble us, as they represent people \u2013 individuals — who were brothers, husbands, mothers, sisters, and friends,\u201d Marshall noted. \u201cThese were people who were woven into the fabric of communities across this nation; they were loved, they were mourned, and they were missed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall said he, personally, could not imagine the feelings engendered by having to send a loved one off to war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flags adorn the graves of military veterans in Woodland Cemetery on Monday.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou watch them disappear out of your sight, knowing it might be the last time that you will see them, or hug them, tell them you love them, but this has been the stark reality for many families in this country,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, too, have been the telegrams, the phone calls in the night, and the chaplain standing in the front door of the next of kin to tell them that their loved one has been killed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall said the sacrifices of military veterans are largely responsible for Americans\u2019 enjoying the freedoms they have today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur way of life has been shaped and made possible by those who served, and those who were lost,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cWe are able to be here today largely because of those who are not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall urged those attending the ceremony to keep veterans in their thoughts, and to give back to veterans suffering physical, psychological, and emotional wounds related to their wartime service, noting that veterans groups provide a way for local residents to connect with those veterans who still suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Marshall\u2019s speech, wreaths were laid at the foot of a veterans memorial in the cemetery, while an honor guard comprised of members of American Legion Post 178 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5803, both of Van Wert, provided a 21-gun salute to those veterans who gave their lives for America and \u201cTaps\u201d was played for those who died in service to the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor Communities in the area honored citizens who died in military service to maintain the freedoms all Americans enjoy at Memorial Day services held on Monday. In Van Wert, veterans and local residents gathered at Woodland Cemetery to honor veterans who died in wars throughout the nation\u2019s history. After the American Legion Riders […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 12:38:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}