ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y.–Middletown Elks Lodge 1097 hosted its first Memorial Day ceremony to honor those who served their country and made the ultimate sacrifice.
Army veteran Ryan Valcourt, commander of American Legion Post 151, acted as master of ceremonies for the crowd of 180 people.
The ceremony began with Wallkill American Legion Post 1181 posting the colors and an invocation from post Chaplin Paul Eric.
Then followed the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the national anthem.
Veteran Barry Schnipper talked about the meaning and origin of the holiday.
“Memorial Day is more than just an unofficial start of summer or a reason for a long weekend. It’s a very solemn day of remembrance, set aside to honor the men and women who gave their lives in military service to the United States. ”
The earliest Memorial Day ceremonies took place after the Civil War. The events were held mostly by women, who would decorate the graves of the fallen. One of the earliest recorded was held by a group of freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1865. Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971.
The Middletown ceremony had guest speaker Rosie Walsh tell the stories of brave soldiers of America’s history. Walsh served in the Army National Guard for 13 years, and in the New York Police Department for 20. She has worked for the Wallkill Police Department since 2008.
She told a few stories of war heroes to be remembered. One was Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lummus.
Lummus could have stayed a football player for the New York Giants, but after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, he quit football and joined the Marine Corps.
On Iwo Jima, he ignored his injuries and neutralized three enemy pillboxes before stepping on a landmine and losing his legs. He died from his wounds.
“The true heroes are not the quarterbacks who successfully execute Hail Mary passes or the baseball players who hit walk-off home runs. It isn’t the Hollywood actor who looks good dodging imaginary bullets and fake explosions,” Walsh said. “It is the military veteran. The police officer, the firefighter, and all others who risk it all.”
Many heartfelt and touching passages were read at the podium. Abraham Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address was a salute to those who sacrificed to preserve the Union during the Civil War. A poem called “The Final Inspection” described a soldier’s judgment from God, which ended with: “Walk the streets of heaven because you’ve served your time in hell.”
Many letters from fallen soldiers throughout America’s history were read by the veterans from Post 1181, revealing the devotion and resolve that these soldiers possessed, sometimes just minutes before their death.
The event ended with a Three Volley Salute from the Post 1181 veterans, delivered outside the Elks Lodge. Free lunch provided by the Lodge was served.
Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano said that the ceremony was splendid, and that he hopes the Middletown Memorial Day Parade, put on hold since COVID, can be restarted.
