Local news- Press Release
Carthage Missouri - Carthage Memorial Day Ceremony Returns after Pandemic Hiatus 31 May 2022 ( news )
Carthage , state Missouri ( By Press Release office)
May 31,2022
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ARTHAGE , Mo . — The Carthage Veterans Alliance on Monday brought back the annual Memorial Day ceremony at Park Cemetery after canceling the event in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic .
About 200 people — the largest crowd in recent memory — joined members of Carthage Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2590 , American Legion Post 9 , Disabled American Veterans and the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Group to remember veterans who lost their lives in service to their country .
The ceremony included music by the Heartland Concert Band , presentation of the colors , an “empty chair” missing - in - action ceremony , the folding of the flag and presentation of a wreath .
Longtime Carthage resident and retired U . S . Army Col . Bren Flanigan talked about the importance of two days on the calendar .
“To those of us who have worn the uniform of our nation , two days every year have special significance — Veterans Day and Memorial Day , ” Flanigan said . “The former , Veterans Day , is an opportunity to recognize , celebrate and thank those who have served or are serving . It’s a wonderful day .
“The latter day — today — is appropriately a much more somber occasion . Our purpose today is to recognize and honor those Americans who have lost their lives while wearing the uniform of our nation to preserve for us the rights and the way of life that we cherish . ”
Flanigan recited the places American servicemen and women have served in the past several decades , such as Afghanistan , Vietnam , Korea , Europe and the Pacific .
“Today we remember and acknowledge with sadness that some of those American servicemen and women did not return alive to our country . Some did not return at all . They were called to make the ultimate sacrifice and laid down their lives on behalf of our nation . ”
Veterans in the crowd said having the event back after two years was a blessing .
“This day means so much because my brother , Vernon McCoy , was a veteran . He saw them raise the flag on Iwo Jima and he saw so much , ” said Dave McCoy , a Carthage resident and U . S . Navy veteran of the Korean War . “He was a corpsman aboard a hospital ship and went to all the islands in the war in the Pacific in World War II . He would have been here , he was here every year , and we sure missed this event during the pandemic . I’m so happy that it’s back , and they did a tremendous job with the time that they had . I’m just so elated with the tremendous outpouring of love and respect that was here today . ”
Robert Russow , a Carthage resident and U . S . Marine Corps veteran , said he was missing friends with whom he had attended the ceremony before the pandemic . Neel Baucom , retired owner of the Knell Mortuary who helped organize the ceremony for years , died March 25 , 2021 .
“We used to always go ‘round and ‘round with him , and we had a lot of fun , ” Russow said . “This was a big deal to him , though . He was always here and made sure everything ran accordingly . We really miss him . ”
Sonny Elder , retired chaplain for VFW Post 2590 , participated in the event one more time after retiring recently .
“Oh , my gosh , this is fantastic , it’s great , I’ve missed it , ” Elder said . “It’s a highlight . I wouldn’t miss it for anything . I retired as chaplain . but I was joking with some other people — they kind of pulled me out of the cobwebs to do this because the other chaplain is out of town . and I’m always glad to help . ”
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