{"id":166590,"date":"2023-05-30T03:46:39","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T08:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=166590"},"modified":"2023-05-31T03:49:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T08:49:23","slug":"american-legion-post-178-hosts-memorial-day-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2023\/05\/30\/american-legion-post-178-hosts-memorial-day-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Post 178 hosts Memorial Day service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday should be a solemn day but also a day of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those were the words of American Legion Post 178 Commander Ken Myers during Monday\u2019s annual Memorial Day ceremony at Woodland Cemetery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday is not about every service member or veteran, it\u2019s about the ones that died defending the flag, this country and the people they loved,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
With some assistance from Van Wert American Legion Post 178 First Vice Commander Randy Matthews, World War II veteran Joe Morgan, 97, performs the laying of wreath during Monday\u2019s annual Memorial Day Service at Woodland Cemetery. Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Formerly known as Decoration Day when it began in 1868, it became known as Memorial Day after World War I, then became a standardized national holiday in 1971, when Congress set it for the last Monday of May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myers noted 2,100 U.S. flags were placed at the cemetery prior to Monday\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe as veterans proudly and respectfully placed the colors that paved the way for all of us to gather and remember the ultimate sacrifice they paid for our forefathers and for us,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myers also took the time to urge those in attendance to support the planned \u201cWalk of Honor\u201d at Memorial Park at the Legion Post on W. Main St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have at the American Legion a wonderful park that we are currently working to add monuments to honor not only those killed in action but the veterans that served during peace time or in conflict,\u201d he said. \u201cWe currently have two monuments \u2013 one honoring World War I and one that honors World War II, Korean and Vietnam. We have nothing to honor the Persian Gulf or Afghanistan warriors, nor do we have a monument to honor just those who served during peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur military is an all-volunteer group of brave men and women coming from all over this country and her territories,\u201d he continued. \u201cWith that being said, less than one percent of our population serves in our military.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

He added that monuments will also honor local fire, EMS and law enforcement. Anyone may support the project by purchasing a brick or paver, or by making a direct donation to Post 178. More information can be found on Legion Post 178\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myers closed his speech with a quote from General George Patton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died\u2026rather we should thank God that such men lived.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday\u2019s service also included patriotic music by the Paul Hoverman Group; the Entrance of Colors by American Legion Post 178 Riders; the Placing of the Wreath by Joe Morgan, 97, a World War II veteran; a 21-gun salute and taps, and the invocation and benediction by Post Chaplin Ray Kiehl and Dick Elder. A new tradition was introduced during Monday\u2019s ceremony \u2013 the firing of one cannon volley in honor of Civil War veterans who died in combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the ceremony, a free luncheon was held for all at Post 178.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the ceremony in Van Wert, other services were held around the area, including Ohio City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor \u201cToday should be a solemn day but also a day of joy.\u201d Those were the words of American Legion Post 178 Commander Ken Myers during Monday\u2019s annual Memorial Day ceremony at Woodland Cemetery. \u201cToday is not about every service member or veteran, it\u2019s about the ones that died defending the flag, this […]<\/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-166590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 23:20:19","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\/166590","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=166590"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166663,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166590\/revisions\/166663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}