Extinguished veterans flame relit after 40 years

Extinguished veterans flame relit after 40 years

American Legion posts in Lyndon, Kan., built a monument in 1969 outside the local courthouse that featured an eternal flame to represent fallen servicemembers. However, the flame was extinguished more than 40 years ago due to natural gas shortages, and it remained unlit until this past Veterans Day when Jayson Massey felt it was his duty as an Air Force veteran and Legionnaire to relight the Osage County Veterans Eternal Flame Memorial.

"An eternal flame should of course be eternal," said Massey, commander of Post 125 in Lyndon. "Not to mention that a lot of Legionnaires put time and money into the original project. I thought it was really important to at least try to do something to get it to where it was originally."

Massey and other Post 125 members hired locals to repaint and remove dents in the monument, and to rewire it to use floodlights rather than a gas-fueled flame.

The Osage County Veterans Eternal Flame Memorial was relit on Veterans Day – 45 years to the date of its initial dedication. In his speech to attendees at the rededication, Massey said, "The only thing The American Legion asks is that you never let this flame be extinguished again. Remembrance of our veterans will always exist as long as we keep this torch lit forever."

Massey drives by the memorial every day, and "it really makes me happy that a new generation of Legionnaire’s has stepped up to continue on the traditions of past members," he said.