By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
In honor of Memorial Day, the town of Walpole held a Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 27th at the Walpole Town Common. While drizzles of rain fell from time to time, it held off long enough for this amazing event to take place outdoors.
Crowds of Walpole residents, families, and friends gathered at the Town Commons to pay tribute and honor to all those who have fought and/or are currently fighting for our country. The event started with an Opening Day Introduction given by Ian Rogers and the Invocation given by Pastor Anna Flowers. This was followed by the Proclamation that was said by Walpole High School Senior, Michael Gillis, who is planning on enlisting after his graduation.
Next, Christian Oster stated the Gettysburg Address, a Troop 97 Boy Scout member led the Pledge of Allegiance and Zeeva Feinstein sang the National Anthem. Rita Mienscow then discussed a very famous war poem from World War I about Flanders Field. This was followed by Donna Summers giving a tribute to women veterans and Jim Magyar who gave the Guest Keynote Speech.
“As we know there have been women in the wars,” Summers stated, “that would dress up as men and pass themselves off and die for our country, but there is little known of them. In the Civil War, there were many females within, either secretly or publicly, who died for their cause. In World War I, roughly 21,000 women joined the Army Nurse Corp and would risk or lose their lives with little to no recognition. … So today I want to pray for all veterans and the female veterans. Let us all remember the ones that we know of, the ones we don’t know of and the ones right amongst us today. And please remember folks, if you know of a veteran in town, or just know of one you haven’t seen in awhile, please check in on them. That makes all the difference in the world for them.”
Honored guests were then given recognition before the Roll Call/Drum Roll that was given by Christian Oster and John Robinson. Following this, all in attendance fell into a moment of silence for all those who have passed while in and/or after serving. The Firing Detail Salute was then given by Steve Kennery and the VFW before the Taps and Echo was played by the Walpole High School Choral Band.
After this, the laying of the wreaths was done by Donna Summers and Gisette Wall while Zeeva Feinstein sang “America The Beautiful.” Next, Pastor Anna Flowers gave the Benediction and Stacy Murphy stated the HTH Banner expansion/names. The ceremony ended with Ian Rogers giving thank you’s, closing remarks, and an invitation for everyone to gather at the VFW Post 5199 for lunch.
This overall event was another major success and memorial time for the town of Walpole. It was such a beautiful way to honor all those who served and continue to do so for our country.
