Bucyrus takes time to remember on Memorial Day

BUCYRUS – Despite a few raindrops for a brief interval in the morning, Memorial Day this year served as the perfect backdrop for getting some yard work done, enjoying an extra day off from work and school, or getting together with family and friends to enjoy a variety of grilled meats.

This isn't the point of Memorial Day, however, and an impressively large crowd of Bucyrus and Crawford County residents took an hour away from their busy Monday to remember why the holiday was created in 1868, shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War.

Lt. Col. David Riedel, a New Washington native retired recently from the U.S. Marine Corps, remembered what Memorial Day meant to him Monday during a short address at the Col. Wilson C. Lemert Memorial in Oakwood Cemetery, Bucyrus.

"Like today, the Legionnaires would lead the parade out with their flags and we'd march through a cemetery and then some people would speak and they shot their guns and played this song really slow, and I never really understood why all the veterans in the different-colored hats and uniforms got so emotional," he said.

Precisely the same routine unfolded Monday in Oakwood Cemetery, and Riedel reminded the crowd why they were there.

"Take time to pause and remember why we celebrate Memorial Day, and especially remember the servicemen and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice. They died for you and me," he said.

During his address, Riedel remembered several service members, from his father, Paul, to several of his comrades who were killed in action, to "all the families who have visited Dover (Del.) Air Force Base, to be there when their sons or daughters come back after paying the ultimate sacrifice in combat."

He also emphasized that Memorial Day is a time for honoring the veterans with us today as well as those still active in the armed services.

"In your day-to-day affairs, whenever you run into a former service member – and normally you can tell us by the ball caps we wear – stop and talk to them and thank them. They normally have some good stories to tell," Riedel said.

Riedel, a 1976 graduate of Buckeye Central High School, was commissioned into the Marine Corps after graduating from the Naval Academy. He flew 60 combat missions over Bosnia in support of Operation Deny Flight while stationed in Italy.

Memorial Day observances began Monday in Bucyrus with a parade, kicking off from Washington Square and ending at the cemetery, led by the honor guard and featuring the bands from Bucyrus middle and high schools.

At the cemetery, Becca Mutchler read President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Sam VanVoorhis read Gen. John A. Logan's General Order No. 11, instituting Memorial Day to "cherish tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foe."

This year's parade grand marshal was Boyd Long, who also served as master of ceremonies at the observance. Long is a veteran of the U.S. Navy Submarine Service, having served in Korea and Vietnam.

Taps was played by Taylor Bayless and Kayleigh Seiber of Bucyrus High School.

According to the Veterans Memorial Society, Inc. of Bucyrus, 112 local veterans "responded to taps" from May 1, 2014 through May 1 of this year – five serving in unknown wars, 16 in peacetime, two in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, 27 in Vietnam, one in Korea and Vietnam, 26 in Korea and 35 in World War II.

Col. Wilson C. Lemert commanded the 86th Ohio Infantry during the Civil War, and was involved in the capture of Cumberland Gap, Tenn. He died in 1915.

thill3@nncogannett.com

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Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ