Memorial Day held at Buckeye West

By Alyssa Howard

CV wins BBB contest

ADENA —

Buckeye

Local West Elementary hosted a Memorial Day Service partnered with the Adena American Legion Post #525 on Friday, May 19.

It was the last event the school held before the conclusion of the school year that next week. The event kicked off with the advancement of colors, and a member of the Adena Legion, Roger Sliva welcomed everyone. He gave the floor to Buckeye Local students who led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance, and they gave invocation about why we honor Memorial Day.

Buckeye West Principal Brian DiCola thanked everyone for coming and explained how the school is very proud to be able to host events like these for our current veterans and those lost in action.

The school held an essay contest for the six grade students. They were to write “What Memorial Day means to me”, and the essay contest winners were as follows; first place was Cameron Knight, second place was Kylie Kinney, and third place was Destiny Duke. They were presented awards from the Adena American Legion Post #525 by Sliva and Dirk Hawkins. They were also given certificates by District 96-Ohio State Representative Ron Ferguson.

The guest speaker that afternoon was Deputy Sheriff Rodney Roe. Deputy Roe is currently a resource officer for the Buckeye

Local District. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army, having served in Vietnam and Desert Storm. He spoke strongly about the freedoms that we have today and the reason why we have them. He spoke of how instead of just one day in May, that we should be honoring the men and women that gave all for us every single day.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Logan issued General Order No. 11, which called for a national Day of Remembrance for Civil War dead. This order served as the basis for what became the national holiday of Memorial Day.

In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The holidays were moved in part to allow workers in the country to enjoy long weekends. In signing the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, President Lyndon B. Johnson hoped to encourage Americans to use the time for leisure.

A roll call of those killed in action was held, veterans placed poppy flowers and gave salute to their fallen comrades. Buckeye Local third- and fourth-grade students did a musical performance, singing many known patriotic songs, including the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

The afternoon ended with a rifle salute by the Adena Legion Firing Squad, and “Taps” was played by sixth-grade trumpet player Cameron Knight as the retirement of colors took place.