BY HELEN B. FOSTER
Guest speakers at Susquehanna’s Memorial Day ceremonies followed a parade that formed in Oakland and ended at the Veteran’s Memorial Board in The Shops Plaza. Front row, from left: Susquehanna Mayor Nancy Hurley, Rev. LuAnn Campbell; back row, Robert Klein, District Attorney Jason Legg, District Justice Jodi Cordner, and Gene Stewart.
Susquehanna County’s District Attorney Jason Legg served as the keynote speaker for Susquehanna’s Memorial Day ceremonies.
American Legion Post 86 hosts the annual day set aside to honor all those who gave the supreme sacrifice for their country as well as all those who have served to keep our country safe.
Legion Riders, near 100 strong, led the parade followed by the American Legion Color Guard. Once the parade had reached the Plaza, the Susquehanna Community Band played the National Anthem and Boy Scout Troop 81 led the Pledge of Allegiance.
“Today, we stand in the long shadow of those who have sacrificed for the preservation of God’s most precious blessings-liberty, freedom and independence,” Legg said, “There are those who would trade liberty fro tyranny, freedom for chains and independence for dependence–but history teaches us that Americans will not do so. The sons and daughters of this Nation have sacrificed time and time again for more that two centuries-not for any measurable economic benefit but rather as the champion of liberty and the enemy of tyranny”.
Legg continued by saying, “Today we honor that immeasurable sacrifice – we weep at the pain and suffering that patriot’s death took on their friends and family – and we remember that the defense of liberty and the preservation of freedom comes with a terrible butcher’s bill”.
“In the shadow of their sacrifice let our hearts be filled with the same resolve and dedication that motivated those who sacrificed their families, their careers, their lives. Let us honor the memory of these heroes by living lives worthy of their sacrifices. Words will never pay the appropriate tribute to those who died for us and our fallen deserve so much more from us than simply pretty words. They deserve for us to make our own small sacrifices to protect the greatness of this Nation”.
With Gene Stewart acting as Master of Ceremonies, he introduced: Mayor Nancy Hurley; Robert Klein; Rev. LuAnn Campbell; Chaplain Post 86 Ron Whitehead.
The ceremony closed with a Rifle Squad Salute and Taps.
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