Mahanoy community commemorates Memorial Day with ceremony
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SENTINEL PHOTO - The Upper Schuylkill Marching Band performs during the Mahanoy City Memorial Day Ceremony, held on Catawissa Street on May 26, 2019.
By Kaylee Lindenmuth
MAHANOY CITY – The Mahanoy City community honored the nation’s veterans and fallen service members with a ceremony commemorating Memorial Day Sunday afternoon.
Area residents gathered at Catawissa and Centre Streets, next to the Veterans’ Memorial Park, to hear speakers including veterans and Mahanoy Area High School students, as well as musical selections performed by the Upper Schuylkill Marching Band.
Retired Lt. Col. Theresa DelBalso was the main speaker for the ceremony
”We all share a legacy. It is that we are fortunate enough to live in a country in which human life is sacred, the pursuit of happiness is possible, and that hard work really does pay off, in both tangible and intangible forms,” said DelBalso. “The United States of America stands atop of the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of our labor and freedom from oppression because of citizens who have said ‘I will go and defend democracy. I will go and defend human rights. I will go and defend equality, and I will go and defend freedom.'”
“Memorial Day is a time to remember the many and great sacrifices made by those who have gone before us to pave the way for democracy and freedom for all,” DelBalso continued.
Following DelBalso, Mahanoy City borough council vice president Francis Burke recognized two area veterans who passed away in the past year, Julius Deriscavage and Joseph Boyle, ringing a bell after each name was said.
Vietnam veteran and Mahanoy City resident Louis Huber, and Mahanoy City mayor Dennis Wiessner also provided remarks, and Mahanoy Area seniors Cameron Jones and Kendall Bernardyn recited the Gettysburg Address and a poem entitled “Memorial Day” respectively.
The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, and a dove release.
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