District schedules Memorial Day services
While Memorial Day weekend unofficially means the start of summer fun, it is first and foremost a time to honor those who have served this nation.
Area veterans know well the importance of this holiday.
“These people have given of their time – many have given their lives – to ensure the freedoms we have today,” said Thomas McFadden, secretary of the Connellsville Veterans Commission.
Sonny Redman of the American Legion Post 838 in Braznell in Redstone Township, said, “The main purpose is honoring deceased veterans and there are a lot of them.”
James Clark, parade chairman for Vietnam Veterans Inc. of Fayette County, noted, “We should always remember our war dead. Freedom is not free. It comes with a heavy price.”
The following is a listing of observances this weekend in the community:
FAYETTE COUNTY
Brownsville area
A service will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lafayette Memorial Park in Brier Hill, that’s hosted by American Legion Posts 295 of Brownsville, 940 of West Brownsville, 275 of Grindstone and 838 of Braznell. State Rep. Deberah Kula, D-North Union Township, will speak. Albert Gallatin High School Junior ROTC will post colors. There will be a combined honor guard. Sandy Behanna will play taps.
Connellsville
Connellsville Veterans Committee announced the observance includes a parade with line up at 9:30 a.m. Monday on the city’s West Side. The parade will move onto the bridge at 10 a.m. for a brief ceremony that includes a firing squad and laying a wreath on the Yough River for those lost at sea. The parade will move up Crawford Avenue to Pittsburgh Street for a service at the veterans memorial. Speaker is Col. Bernard R. Lindstrom of the Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lt. Col. Katie Bailey, battalion commander, and Major Timothy Hensel, battalion executive officer, of Connellsville Area Senior High School’s Army Junior ROTC, will place a wreath. Other participants include Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Ronald L. Shroyer, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Spore of Otterbein United Methodist Church, Frank Zadell of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 21, officer of the day; Dennis McKendry of American Legion Post 301, who is commander of the day; Abbie N. Siecinski, winner of VFW Voice of Democracy competition; Connellsville High School Band, Gerald Browell and the Molinaro Band.
Dunbar
Terry Golden, adjutant for American Legion Post 146, said line up is at 9:45 a.m. Monday at the old borough school on Connellsville Street for a parade that begins at 10 a.m. It will proceed to the bridge over Dunbar Creek where a wreath will be laid for those lost at sea and a salute presented. The procession will continue to the honor roll on Woodvale Street for a service. Connellsville Elementary School Band will perform. The Geibel Girls Ensemble will sing the national anthem.
Everson
The annual service begins at 9 a.m. Monday at the veterans memorial at the corner of Brown and Jones streets, sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 595 in Everson, Everson Borough Council and Everson Volunteer Fire Dept. Tim Shoemaker, former mayor, is keynote speaker. Boy Scout Troop 160 will post colors. Jessica Johnston and Taney Basinger will sing patriotic selections. George Sherbondy, VFW commander, is officer of the day. Flowers will be placed at the monument and there will be a rifle salute and the playing of taps.
n A ceremony will be held at 11:15 a.m. at St. Joseph Cemetery, located outside of Everson in Valley. There will be placing of flowers, a rifle salute and taps. Afterwards, the VFW welcomes participants to the post home for refreshments.
Fairchance
A parade and memorial service begins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Line up is at 1:30 p.m. on West Church and Fayette streets. The parade travels east on West Church Street to Alfred Wilson Memorial Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7219 at 2 Main St. where a memorial service begins at 3:15 p.m. Capt. Darren DeCarlo of U.S. Air Force Reserve, is speaker. Participants include Navy Commander Tim Flecker, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8543 Band, the Rev. Ken Rockwell, pastor of Fairchance Free Methodist Church, Leo Kaputa will recite the Gettysburg Address. There will be a military tribute and playing of taps. Marching bands from Albert Gallatin School District’s North and South Middle Schools and High School will lead different sections of the parade. VFW Post 7219, American Legion Post 928, Vietnam War Veterans, Boy Scouts, churches, ball teams, classic cars and fire and emergency vehicles from several departments will march in the parade.
Masontown
Masontown Volunter Fire Dept. will hold its annual fire department memorial program at 9 a.m. Monday at the fire department, located at 221 N. Washington St. They will honor all deceased firefighters of the department. George Vargo, quartermaster for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4584, said a parade will begin at 10 a.m. Monday near the front of the First National Bank on South Main Street. It will continue to Masontown Cemetery where a memorial service will be held.
New Geneva
Services have been set for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cedar Grove Cemetery, located at 6 South St. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 747 from Point Marion will conduct military services.
Perryopolis
Perryopolis and Perry Township Veterans of Foreign Wars Gold Star Post 7023 and American Legion Post 752 will conduct a service at 10 a.m. Monday at the Frazier High School Auditorium. State Rep. Deberah Kula, D-North Union Township, will speak. Other participants include Frazier High School/Middle School Band, Boy Scout Troop 625, Cadet Troop 54078 and Cub Scout Pack 626; lay minister Ross Ackinclose, the Rev. Anthony Ditto of St. John Roman Catholic Church, program chairman Peter P. Pierotti, VFW Commander Robert Chuboy, American Legion Commander Norman Zimmerman. VFW auditor John Cernuska will present the Patriotic Flag Raising Award. John Shortman will announce awards for the Patriots Pen and Voice of Democracy contests. Matthew Ratai, Frazier band director, will present a video. Program committee co-chairoman Tony Fao will memorialize comrades who passed away in 2013-14. Services continue at the honor roll adjacent to the school with Boy Scout Troop 625 conducting a flag-raising ceremony and laying a wreath, a firing squad under the direction of Tony A. Fao Sr. and command of Thomas Glawinsky while Frazier Band buglers Russell Potter and Chelsea Clem will play taps.
Point Marion
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Evergreen Cemetery. The Albert Gallatin High School Band will perform. Another service takes place at 10:55 a.m. at Veterans Bridge in Point Marion where a wreath will be placed in the Cheat River to remember those lost at sea. Both ceremonies will include a firing squad and taps. The services are hosted by George O’Neil Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 747 and Samuel Hager American Legion Post 499, according to Ralph Burnette, VFW commander. A parade begins at 11 a.m. The events are part of the 35th annual Albert Gallatin Regatta.
Smithfield
Smithfield will have line up at 1 p.m. Monday on Liberty Street near Smithfield Elementary School for a parade that starts at 2 p.m. The Smithfield Volunteer Fire Dept. fire chief will inspect all floats and safety chains are required. All tractors and vehicles must have an operator. The parade will be led by an honor guard from AMVETS Post 103 in Hopwood, followed by military personnel and the Junior ROTC from Albert Gallatin High School. They will proceed to the honor roll on Main Street where Major Jason Dunkelberger of the Junior ROTC will speak. The parade will continue to Mount Moriah Cemetery where a service will begin upon the military’s arrival. Madonna Nicklow, director of Fayette County Veterans Affairs, will speak. Other participants include the Albert Gallatin High School Band and Dunkelberger as well as presentation of the fifth grade citizenship award along with the Post 103 honor guard constructing a soldier’s grave, narrated by Larry Stanish. The event is a partnership between the Fairchance and Smithfield American Legion, Smithfield Volunteer Fire Dept. and Smithfield Borough Council. For more information, call 724-569-9601.
Tri-Town area
American Legion Post 586 will hold ceremonies on Monday. The Rev. David McElroy from East Liberty Presbyterian Church will be speaker. Ben Aver will play taps. The Vanderbilt Community Church Choir will perform. Ceremonies will begin at 9:15 a.m. on the Dawson Bridge, at 9:30 a.m. at the Catholic Cemetery on Dickerson Run Hill, 10 a.m. at Flatwoods Cemetery and at 11 a.m. at the Dickerson Run Union Cemetery, as announced by Pete Gray, post commander.
Uniontown
The Civil War will be the focus once again of the Decoration Day ceremony at 3 p.m. Sunday at the historic Union Cemetery of Fayette County, commonly known as Oak Grove Cemetery, located between West Main Street and Route 21 near Uniontown Hospital. The Rev. Roland Maust, pastor of Grace Brethren Church in Uniontown and a Civil War historian, will speak. Representatives from the Daughters of Union Veterans and the Sons of Union Veterans will appear in period costumes to lay wreaths at the cemetery’s Civil War Monument. The 40th Pennsylvania Regiment, Company F of the Pennsylvania 11th Reserve Unit, a re-enactment group, will participate. George C. Marshall Post 103 of AMVETS, American Legion Post 51 and Vietnam Veterans Inc. will also participate. Doves will be released.
n Mount St. Macrina Cemetery, located along Route 40 just west of Uniontown at Mount St. Macrina, will hold a Memorial Day prayer service at 10 a.m. Monday. The event has been changed to an earlier time. Members of George Marshall Post 103 of AMVETS in Hopwood will participate. For more information, call 724-439-4484.
n United Veterans Association of Uniontown will hold its annual program at Sylvan Heights Cemetery Avenue of Flags, North Gallatin Avenue Extension, at 10 a.m. Monday. James F. Clark will serve as master of ceremonies. Glenn Neilsen is officer of the day. Both are from Vietnam Veterans Inc. Command Sergeant Major Lesa Meinze of the U.S. Army is principal speaker. Other participants include William Pitts, United Veterans Association chaplain; Laurel Highlands High School Air Force Junior ROTC Color Guard, Uniontown Mayor Ed Fike, Asa McCormick of Vietnam Veterans Inc., and Steve Minnick, retired navy lieutenant commander. Association members will provide the firing squad with sergeant-at-arms Commander Lou Fratrich. Debbie Hull, representing the Gold Star Mothers, will place a wreath.
GREENE COUNTY
Aleppo
Waynesburg Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4793, James E. Farrell American Legion Post 330 and Disabled American Veterans Chapter 123 of Waynesburg will participate in a dedication of a veterans monument at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Aleppo Brethren Church.
Carmichaels
Carmichaels Honor Guard, consisting of members of Carmichaels American Legion Post 400, Carmichaels Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3491, Greensboro Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6303 and Bobtown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5567, will participate in a parade at 12:30 p.m. Monday from the American Legion Post 400 in Carmichaels to the Laurel Point Cemetery with Frank Ricco and the American Legion Post Band. A service will be held at 1 p.m. in the cemetery with Martin J. Yoskovich, funeral director, as speaker. The Rev. Reagan Fike of First Christian Church of Carmichaels will give invocation and Benediction. Lunch will follow at 1:30 p.m. at Carmichaels Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3491, served by the ladies auxiliary.
Crucible
A service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Crucible Honor Roll with state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, and Robert W. Teagarden III, army veteran combat specialist with the PAARGN, as speakers. Chris Sheldon will sing the national anthem. The Rev. Frank Vucci of the Sugar Grove Baptist Church in Greensboro will lead prayer. The Carmichaels Honor Guard will participate.
Garards Fort
A service will be held at noon Sunday at Garards Fort Cemetery with Dr. Lawrence M. Stratton, director of the Stover Center for Constitutional Studies and Moral Leadership with Waynesburg University, as speaker. The Carmichaels Honor Guard will participate.
Greensboro
Greensboro Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Roll will be the setting for a service at 1 p.m. Sunday with a salute and placement of a wreath to honor the deceased. The Carmichaels Honor Guard will participate.
Jefferson
There will be a service by the James R. Maxon American Legion Post 992 of Mount Morris at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Jefferson Cemetery with a salute to the deceased and placement of a wreath at the honor roll.
Mather
The Filer-Sadlek Post 954 of Jefferson will have a service at 11 a.m. Monday at the Mather Honor Roll/Post Office with the Rev. Brad Edgar of the Clarksville Christian Church. A salute to the deceased and placement of a wreath at the honor roll will follow.
Mount Morris
The James R. Maxon American Legion Post 992 of Mount Morris will hold services at 11 a.m. Sunday at Kiger Cemetery with the honor guard and firing squad. This will be followed immediately by a service at Claughton Chapel Cemetery. The legion will also host services Monday that begin at 10 a.m. at Mount Morris United Methodist Church, followed by a parade at 11 a.m. from the church to the creek with a salute to the deceased by throwing a flower into the water in memory of the navy. A ceremony will take place at noon at the Cedar Grove Cemetery, followed by the placement of a wreath at the monument. There will be an honor guard and firing squad.
Nemacolin
The Carmichaels Honor Guard will participate in a service at 10 a.m. Monday at the Nemacolin Honor Roll.
Rices Landing
The Brooks-Crago American Legion Post 816 of Rices Landing will host a parade at 2 p.m. Sunday that begins at the post home and proceeds to the honor roll located between the Hewitt Cemetery and the Hewitt Presbyterian Church. Participants include Jefferson-Morgan High School Band, Boy Scouts , Girl Scouts and Rices Landing Volunteer Fire Department. Kit Watson, Pennsylvania adjutant for the American Legion will speak. Other participants include Scot Lippencott, adjutant for the American Legion; Tonya Lippencott; the Rev. Geoff Roch of the Hewitt Presbyterian Church in Rices Landing. Following this service, another will be held at the Crucible Cemetery Honor Roll. Refreshments will follow in the post home.
Waynesburg
Waynesburg Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4793 will hold a service at 11 a.m. Monday at the post home on Lincoln Street with Blair Zimmerman, Greene County commissioner, as speaker. Veronica DeAngelo will sing the national anthem. James E. Farrell American Legion Post 330 and the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 123 of Waynesburg will also participate. A service will be held at noon Monday in the veterans section of the Greene County Memorial Park by the Filer-Sadlek Post 954 of Jefferson. The service will include a salute to the deceased and a wreath placed at the base of the American flag.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Charleroi
Charleroi Veterans Council will hold services on Monday at the following honor rolls: Speers at 9 a.m., Fallowfield at 9:30 a.m., North Charleroi, Lock 4, 10 a.m.; Charleroi, 11 a.m., and Dunlevy at noon.
Clarksville
Services are scheduled for 10:20 a.m. at the honor roll with Hanson-Cole Post 391 American Legion of Fredericktown.
Deemston
Services will be held at 8:40 a.m. Monday at the Buckingham Cemetery with Hanson-Cole Post 391 American Legion of Fredericktown
Fredericktown
Several services are conducted in Fredericktown throughout Monday with Hanson-Cole Post 391 American Legion of Fredericktown. They include: 8:45 a.m. at Fredericktown Hill Cemetery, 9:30 a.m. at the World War II honor roll on Main Street, 10:45 a.m. at the riverfront, which includes placing a wreath on the Monongahela River to honor all servicemen and servicewomen lost at sea; and 11 a.m. at the municipal parking lot on Main Street. Services will conclude at the veterans memorial.
Millsboro
A service will be held at 10 a.m. at the Milfred Terrace Cemetery in Millsboro with Hanson-Cole Post 391 American Legion of Fredericktown.
Newton
Services will be held at the World War I honor roll at 9:45 a.m. with Hanson-Cole Post 391 American Legion of Fredericktown.
Vestaburg
A service will be held at 9:15 a.m. Monday at the honor roll in Vestaburg with Hanson-Cole Post 391 American Legion of Fredericktown.
West Brownsville-Blainesburg
A combined honor guard from the American Legion Posts 940 in West Brownsville, 295 in Brownsville, 838 in Braznell and 275 in Grindstone will perform a series of memorial services on Monday, according to adjutant Yvonne Gmutza of Post 940. They begin in West Brownsville at 10 a.m. at the veterans memorial on Main Street near the borough building. They will then travel to the honor roll on Pittsburgh Hill in Blainesburg for a service at about 10:20 a.m. and then return to West Brownsville for another service at about 10:45 a.m. at the honor roll in front of the legion on Middle Street. Each service will include a firing squad. The final service at the post home will include a 25-voice women’s choir composed of local residents who will sing patriotic songs. Afterwards, the auxiliary will serve lunch.
WESTMORELAND COUNTY
Scottdale
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 595 from Everson will participate in a ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at St. John Byzantine Catholic Cemetery. The event will include placement of flowers, a rifle salute and the playing of taps.