Local Veterans Receive Honor

WAITSBURG - Flags snapped briskly in the breeze, with minia­ture versions dotting the grounds in memory of local veterans, as the crowd gathered at the Waitsburg City Cemetery for the May 26, 2014 Memorial Day Program. Boy Scouts from Troop 332 raised the flag and high school junior Mikala DeRuwe sang "The Star-Spangled Banner." Pastor Bret Moser offered the invocation.

K.C. Kuykendall welcomed the audience on behalf of the City Council, expressing thanks for those who gave their lives for our coun­try. He encouraged listeners to impact the country by the way they live their lives. "A country worth dying for is a country worth living for. It's this gen­eration that determines the future," said Kuykendall.

A group of patriotically clad Sun­day school students, ages three to 13, performed "This is My Country," and "Pledge of Allegiance." Suzy Moser, Amy Farley and Kate Kuykendall sang "I Love a Parade." The group was directed by Barb Knopp and Marilyn

Groom, with Robbie Skiles pro­viding accompaniment.

Fourth-grader, Allie Laposi, read her first place American

Legion Auxiliary essay titled

"How Can I Show My Pride in

Being an American?" In her es­say, Laposi mentioned helping the poor, standing up to bullies, being eco-friendly and vowed to "try my best even when people say it's im­possible." The second place fourth grade winner was William Charles

Judy II and Alex Struckmeier won third place.

Fifth-grader, Kate Kuykendall read her essay that placed first, not only locally, but at the district and state levels as well. Her composition underscored the importance of respect for the flag, the Pledge, memorials and his­tory. (See complete essay at right.) Kuykendall's essay will advance to the national competition. Teagan Larsen placed second locally and Alvin Knowles placed third.

Three members of the Waitsburg Quartet - Jack McCaw, Kyle Terry and Chuck Reeves - sang the classic gospel song, "Just a Little Talk with Jesus." McCaw called roll asking veterans of the different branches of the service to stand and the quartet led the crowd in singing "God Bless America."

American Legion Auxil­iary Junior Members Emma Philbrook and Meara Baker placed the memorial wreath and lit the eternal flame. Auxiliary President Rose Engelbrite introduced U.S. Air Force TSgt. and Waits­burg alumni James Craw­ford. Crawford spoke rep­resenting himself as well as his wife, U.S. Air Force SSgt. Rose Crawford, his sister U.S. Air Force SSgt. Amanda (Crawford) Ander­son and his brother-in-law U. S. Air Force MSgt. Timothy Anderson.

Crawford reflected on the more than one million lives that have been given since the Revolutionary War and shared personally and powerfully about how that number was made tan­gible by seeing the graves of 5,000 fallen Americans at the Luxembourg American Cemetery. He also shared that wife Rose had led over 400 HR (human remains) missions and was greatly impacted by the experience, especially one helicopter at­tack that claimed 40 Ameri­can lives. Crawford said the team "moved solemnly to bestow the final honor" to the 40 transfer cases - each bearing a photo and flag - as they returned them home. He reminded the crowd that these fallen veterans are "at the very least sons and daughters, but also hus­bands, wives, sisters and brothers."

Two new names were dedicated to the Veterans Memorial Wall: Andrew Cook (WWII) and Robert E. Danforth (Korea).

Auxiliary Commander Ron Standring introduced Dalton LaRue who will be entering the U.S. Army on June 30. Standring called the veterans to stand with LaRue in a muster ceremony and read "Ten Tips for Boot Camp." Standring presented LaRue with a leatherman and Engelbrite presented his mother, Tammy LaRue, with a one-star flag.

Pastor Mike Ferrians of­fered the benediction and Dayton American Legion Post #42 gave a gun salute. LaRue closed the ceremony by playing Taps.