Saturday, May 30, 2020

Exeter American Legion Hosts Abbreviated Memorial Day Program



A cloudy misty morning mimicked the somber attitude at the Memorial Day program at the Exeter Cemetery.

The program was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 virus.  Most of the attendees listened from their vehicles.
Butch Jansen opened the program, led the group in prayer and led the pledge.

Exeter-Milligan senior Cailtin Murphy read The Gettysburg Address.

Jansen read the names of those from the Exeter area who lost their lives in service before Kayla Geiger read “In Flanders Fields.”

Tim Wilbeck gave a brief address noting how the Corona virus has “reminded everyone how fragile life can be.”

He drew similarities between the unforeseen dangers of the current state of the world with those the military faces every day.

Wilbeck encouraged the community to honor those who died in service or brought home an “invisible wound of war.”

He noted that the healthcare workers are todays heroes and have “much in common with our military heroes.  They are elite and ordinary.  Elite in their sense of character and ordinary in that they represent the diverse fabric of our country.”

The healthcare heroes, along with our fallen warries have “given their lives to protect our way of life.”

The program closed with Murphy playing “Taps” and Jaiden Papik playing “Taps Echo.” 





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