Soldiers buried in national cemeteries gave their lives because of a shared identity as Americans, about 100 attendees were told at a Memorial Day ceremony in Festus.
“Let us commit to the principle: while we may disagree on policy, we must never lose sight of our shared identity as Americans,” Drew Wheatley, the guest speaker at the American Legion Post 253 Memorial Day ceremony, said at the May 25 ceremony at the legion hall.
“The soldiers buried in our national cemeteries did not die for the red or blue states, they died for the United States.”
Wheatley, who is a member of American Legion Post 416 of Farmington, is a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran who served 21 years in the Air Force. His speech focused on the meaning of Memorial Day and not letting differing opinions interfere with the day’s observance.
American Legion member Tom Dolan, who oversees planning the Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies at Post 253, said this is the second year the legion has held the event in the building.
“American Legion has redone the whole facility here; it’s been upgraded,” said Dolan, 78, of Hillsboro. “We were out at (Larry Crites Memorial Park), and we moved it in here because it was always a weather problem.”
Sandy Heller, 74, of Herculaneum said the event was well organized and covered everything you would want to cover in a Memorial Day ceremony.
“I’m proud of the people who did all of this; it takes a team effort,” she said. “I’m happy I came.”
Heller said holding a Memorial Day event is important, especially when it comes to honoring veterans.
“Honoring (veterans) builds them up still,” she said. “The United States has changed a lot, so we need to reel it back in.”
Les Mouser, 81, of Festus said it’s important to hold these events to remember the ones who served.
“It’s the history and to keep (the memory) going to help people remember,” he said.
Post commander Larry Ahlen said the post likes to keep the event similar each year, though the members enjoy having different speakers.
“We try to get a variety of different gentlemen; today, it was a 21-year veteran, and we’ve had retired generals before,” he said. “It’s just a different background, different people, different perspective.”
See more photos from the event here:
