Never Forgotten

As Carroll County residents have come to expect, American Legion Post 9 hosted a moving Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25.

Commander Tom Mischo kicked off the ceremony with remarks about unknown soldiers. Mischo recalled reading a newspaper article about a visitor in France who went to the farthest tombstone in the cemetery and stumbled upon the tomb of unknown soldiers. Out of 9,399 graves at Normandy Cemetery, Mischo said, 307 contain unknown soldiers.

“There’s no way of knowing how many [unknown soldiers] we had during the Civil War, the Revolutionary War … because they usually were buried in large mass graves,” Mischo said.

Mischo mentioned the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery, which has been guarded “every day, every minute since 1937.” Mischo then introduced Sharon Keck Parker, artistic director of the Star-Spangled Ensemble. This was the first time the ensemble performed at the ceremony in two years, Parker said.

“I’m so pleased to form it again and have these wonderful singers here to sing some selections for you,” Parker said.

The ensemble sang The Star-Spangled Banner; America, of Thee I Sing; In Flanders Fields; and God Bless America. Parker said she chose the selections with care.

“We are singing this in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of our Declaration of Independence,” Parker said.

Between selections, Parker talked about her late father, Warren Keck.

“He was a force of nature at Walker-Wilson Post 9,” Parker said. “He helped build the original legion hut that’s downtown. He served in all facets. He did anything that was required, and he had one son and six daughters to help.”

Parker remembered putting flags out at the cemetery on Memorial Day.

“Dad was always wonderful to … explain the inscriptions on the gravestones and how important their service was,” Parker said.

After a sing-along of God Bless America, Steve Crow of Warriors’ Watch addressed the audience. Warriors’ Watch is an organization that honors veterans by attending funerals, standing a flag line or rendering a final salute.

“Memorial Day comes more than once a year,” Crow said. “For us, it comes every time we go to a funeral home or a cemetery or we stand a flag line … for an American hero.”

Crow described Memorial Day as “the most expensive holiday on the calendar.”

“Every hot dog, every burger … it’s a debt. And it’s not about those of us that served,” Crow said. “That day comes in November. This one’s in honor of those who paid in life and blood, whose moms never saw them again, whose dads wept in private, whose wives raised children alone and whose children will only remember them in pictures.”

Warriors’ Watch was founded in 2008, Crow said, with the mission to appreciate, honor and respect every member of the armed forces.

It’s all about supporting the families of veterans, Crow said.

“A lot of times, it doesn’t make sense to me how they respond to it, because we don’t have fancy uniforms,” Crow said. “We’re kinda raggedy looking. We don’t always shave before a mission, but it’s amazing what it means to families to have people recognize the service of their loved ones.”

Crow continued, “We all have one purpose and that’s to honor our veterans. As long as we’re here, they’ll never bury another one alone. That’s what we do.”