PALO ALTO — Head gear and hats came off during the Memorial Day service at the veterans’ memorial Sunday.
Distinguished keynote speaker retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph N. Butera requested it.
He quoted philosopher George Santayana who said, “Only the dead have seen the end of war,” and “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“Think about these words, because they will be the focus of today. Hopefully, I can instill the words from the past to show their importance in the present,” Butera told the crowd.
Butera, Pottsville, is a 29-year veteran of the military, having served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserves and on active duty for Enduring Freedom. He has served as company commander, battalion executive officer and multiple staff positions at the brigade and division level in both operations and logistics. His various awards include the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster. As a civilian, he’s a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service, having served as a postmaster since 1991 in Tremont, Shenandoah and Schuylkill Haven. Butera’s currently an ad hoc instructor in the Delta School Systems and instructs management, business and general education classes. He and his wife, Kathleen, have two children.
Butera said the flag is a living document and explained how to show reverence.
“See this flag that flies behind us. It’s not only a three-by-five, red, white and blue cloth with stripes and stars. If that’s all you see, you’re not looking close enough. This flag stands before you because it is the epitome of America. It stands and represents you and I and every American that has stood by its side.
“The flag has protocols, much like the people of importance. The flag always flies higher than other flags. It always sits to its own right, whichever way it is facing. When one salutes the flag, it’s called presenting arms, or surrendering your weapon to the flag. Without a weapon, it is presented with a salute.
“This brings us to why we are removing our head gear in reverence today for the deceased. Removing of one’s hat, or head gear, is the ultimate extension of honor or the surrendering of a salute. Everyone here knows what a salute is. This is an act that is common to all veterans if they’re in or out of uniform when saluting the flag. The flag, which I said is the definition of a living thing, is not just a piece of material. It represents the people of our country and this is why it deserves reverence. It is you and it is I,” he said.
Butera said we need to elevate the significance of this one day to the highest of plateaus.
“This group of heroes could not be in front of us today. They cannot hear the applause and the cheers or the adoration. They rely on the ability to raise their efforts with the memories that we provide.
Today we must speak for those hands we cannot shake. Whose backs we cannot pat. Whose eyes we cannot gaze,” he said.
Pastor Kenton Martin offered the invocation, then Madison Eroh was called to the podium. Eroh, 10, a John S. Clarke Elementary Center fourth-grader, sang the national anthem a capella.
Moved by her performance, Butera called Eroh’s rendition of the national anthem “one of the best” he’s heard.
Palo Alto Mayor John Deatrich served as master of ceremonies and spoke of understanding the true meaning of why our nation celebrates Memorial Day.
Deatrich said, “For those who lost loved ones serving our country, the memory can be tears, a void, an empty space where there was once a child, a mother, father or sibling.
“For those people, we use this day to stop and remember the great sacrifice that was made. Those of us who were lucky enough to not be affected by the loss of a loved one serving our country, we at least pause to try to understand what it must feel like. To listen to those who have lived it, so that we can better appreciate the true meaning of Memorial Day.”
Deatrich read the names of 15 soldiers from the borough who died while in service to our country, as a bell tolled for each person. There were 15 flags erected in front of the memorial, representing those who had fallen.
After Butera’s address, Marcayla Lutz-Kanin played taps and Pastor Gerald Richter offered the benediction.
At the conclusion of the Memorial Day service, there was a dedication ceremony for a bench donated by the Stevenson family at the borough’s Bacon Street playground.
“It’s a great honor to dad,” Stevenson’s daughter, Tammy Brower, Palo Alto, said at the dedication. George’s widow, Alice, was also in attendance, as well as a dozen family members. Stevenson’s great-granddaughter, Mykalia Tippett, and Alice Stevenson sat on the bench beside the dedication plaque affixed to the bench back. The plaque read: “In honor of George and Alice Stevenson for their selfless devotion to the Georgie Stevenson Memorial Charity for Children.”
George Stevenson passed away last April. The “George and Georgie Stevenson Memorial Race” at Big Diamond Speedway raised funds for families of ill children.
Brower said her dad loved kids and that his great-granddaughter, Mykalia, spent a lot of time with him in his garage.
Stevonosky and Deatrich offered remarks recognizing the contributions the Stevenson family had made to the community, as those gathered enjoyed refreshments.
“George called everyone ‘gumba,’ which is Italian for friend,” Deatrich said.