County’s war dead honored at ceremony

• Dan Williams reads the names of the war dead from Yorktown while Donny Caraway tolls the bell for each one during the Memorial Day ceremony. A total of 65 soldiers from all wars were honored at the DeWitt County Vietnam Veterans Memorial. PHOTO BY KAYLA BACON
• PHOTO BY KAYLA BACON

A crowd gathered on May 27 under the tent at the DeWitt County Vietnam Veterans Memorial for a solemn ceremony in remembrance of the county’s veterans.

Earlier in the morning a group of 10 Marines, who served together in Iraq and Afghanistan, walked from Nordheim to the Yorktown memorial site in memory of their fallen friends. It was the second year the group made the 10-mile walk on Memorial Day and they plan to continue it next year.

The ceremony program listed one fallen soldier from the Civil War, 16 soldiers from WWI, 33 soldiers from WWII, one soldier from the Korean War, 13 soldiers from the Vietnam War, and one soldier from Afghanistan. Each soldier’s name was recited and followed by a bell toll.

The recitation was followed by a flag folding from a draped casket conducted by members of the Vietnam Veterans Association Chapter 1029.

The original memorial holiday of Decoration Day was designated as a time to honor a community’s fallen war dead with flowers on their graves. The laying of memorial wreaths by the VFW Auxiliary Post 8136 reflected the spirit of Decoration Day.

Colonel Keith Muschalek, who served as the speaker, outlined the history of the holiday and described the 13 soldiers from DeWitt County who died in Vietnam.

Following Muschalek’s speech, the Vietnam Veterans Association gave him a handmade quilt similar to the one auctioned at the end of the ceremony.