The City of Portage and American Legion Post 260 held a Memorial Day Service at Founders Square to bring veterans, families, and community members together. Instead of putting on a parade for the holiday, a service was provided to remember the veterans who have passed to ensure the true meaning of the holiday is not lost.
“People would go to the parade and they would just leave. Not having the parade and trying to bring the people together makes it more significant,” City of Portage Mayor Sue Lynch said. “It's also a project of Post 260, so we work with them. We want them to really say what they want to happen here. We doubled our crowd from last year and it's a beautiful day, so I think we have to keep growing it in this direction.”
The service included singing by the (Portage High School) Choraliers, speakers, the laying of the wreath, as well as a 21-gun salute done by the PHS JROTC. PHS JROTC Platoon Sergeant Hollis Briner explained how the program makes him a better person and how he is glad to be able to serve the community at events such as this one.
“I absolutely love it. It's actually made me a better person,” Briner said. “It makes me feel great honestly serving the community and giving back to the program for making me a better person.”
Briner is beginning his service journey early with JROTC. He explained that he would like to continue to serve and someday join the Army.
“I would like to join the Army. I want to be one of the best soldiers that I can be and go in the footsteps of Master Sergeant and Colonel,” Briner said.
Other high school students were able to serve at the ceremony by singing. The PHS Choralies sang the National Anthem as well as a few other tunes. Being a part of such an event is an educational experience that the students will never forget.
“What I loved is the kids who were singing, are understanding. They're looking out at the audience and they're seeing veterans and they're understanding what they were singing about,” Mayor Lynch said. “We have to continue to teach our young people the meaning of Memorial Day instead of just hot dogs and a cookout. This service reaches right out to the people.”
There were countless veterans attending the service including Vietnam Veteran John Jay Thomas. Thomas was drafted into the Navy and spent four years at sea during wartime. A lot of his friends did not make it home, so this service means a lot to him as he remembered how they passed.
“A lot of my buddies didn’t make it home. I’m glad I got out alive. I was at the wall yesterday for a couple of my buddies and after this service today I have a party to go to later on,” Thomas said.
This holiday holds a lot of meaning for countless Americans. Mayor Lynch is personally connected with the holiday because many of her family members were in the military, and that is why educating the youth and maintaining the true meaning of the holiday is so important to her.
“It means a lot to me because I grew up in a military family for my uncles, and my grandfather and my, great, great grandfather was a Colonel in the Scottish Army, so it's kind of in my blood,” Mayor Lynch said.
Along with playing the bugle at this ceremony, Post Chaplain Jeffery Brooks has been doing countless acts of service for the veterans who have passed. One of these acts of service included laying flags at the graves of fallen veterans.
After seeing the turnout of the event, he explained how Memorial Day events can get very emotional when the community members come together to remember the fallen.
“It was a nice turnout we had today, we filled the park up. It’ll make you cry, it really does,” Brooks said. “Especially when they laid out over 2000 flags at the graveyards on Saturday for the veterans. The first time I did that, I kind of felt alone. But boy, when you start putting all those flags down, you're not the only one. When I put a flag in there I also snap a salute.”
The City of Portage’s Memorial Day Service provided a place for remembrance, as well as a great space to educate and encourage the community’s youth. For more information about the City of Portage, please visit www.portagein.gov.
