CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Honoring veterans this Memorial Day

Gaston Gazette - 5/25/2020

The Sons of the American Legion never want anyone to forget what Memorial Day is about.

"Memorial Day has seemed to turn into a three-day weekend, and it means more than that," said Squadron 82 Commander Jack Weller.

On Saturday, dozens of people came out to Sunset and Webb Memorial cemeteries in Shelby to pay their respects to the more than 1,100 veterans buried between the two cemeteries. Members of the Sons of the American Legion remembered the sacrifices of the generations that came before them.

Weller and the 30 other members of the Cleveland County chapter of the Sons of the American Legion are just that. They are sons of men and women who served in a branch of the military, but they didn't serve themselves.

"For me it is a way to honor my father's military service," Weller said.

After the short ceremony, people were asked to form small groups and maintain social distancing to help place flags at different graves. Many young men and women from Shelby High School athletics and Boy Scout troops in the county participated alongside members of the Shelby Masonic Lodge #744, the family of American Legion members, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Legion Riders and the Sons of the American Legion.

Members of the Sons of American Legion and the other Legion groups intermingled with groups of the younger volunteers. Each shared stories from their past service or of the military service members in their past and why they continued to honor them.

Weller is hopeful that they take a moment on Memorial Day to remember those we've lost.

Joyce Orlando can be reached at 704-669-3341 or find her on Twitter @Star_J_Orlando.

___

(c)2020 Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C.

Visit Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C. at www.gastongazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.