‘It’s extremely moving just to be here’: Boys Nation 2023 pays respect to the fallen
The Sunday and Monday schedules each year at American Legion Boys Nation lend themselves to reflection on those we’ve lost, especially those who gave their “last full measure of devotion” in service to our freedom.
Here’s how Boys Nation 2023 paid their respects.
Memorial service. Assistant activities director Bob Caudell opened Sunday morning’s nondenominational memorial service with a point of personal privilege to remember three former Boys Nation staffers who had passed away: Kenneth Danilson of Iowa, Thane Chastain of Kansas, and Father Gary Gummersheimer of Illinois.
National Chaplain Mark Antal delivered the memorial message and read the flag folding ceremony, assisted by junior counselors Joe Pitts, Colby Lewis and Thomas Davies. Fellow junior counselor George Cecil led the senators in singing “Amazing Grace” and “God Bless America.”
Boys Nation senators also participated in the service:
· Welcome and opening prayer: Thomas Fleming (Alabama)
· Reading from Ecclesiastes Chapter 3: Hillis Kopecky (Georgia)
· POW/MIA remembrance: Creytin Sanner (Kansas) and Michael Bryant (Michigan)
· Wreath dedication: Ethan Nguyen (Nevada), Alex Chen (Pennsylvania), Chase Hoel (Arizona), Bahar Djour (Indiana), Ronald Spears II (Ohio) and Aidan Dong (South Carolina)
· Closing prayer: Ruben Mendes (Wisconsin).
The National Mall. Henry Pahlow of Wisconsin found the name he was looking for on the Vietnam Memorial Wall — Robert J. Schley, his father’s second cousin and a Marine corporal who died in combat in 1967 at the age of 23.
“It’s moving,” Pahlow said of finding Schley’s name. “I know he wasn’t very closely related to me, but to see someone who knew people that I was related to … it’s kind of hard to process, but it also kind of puts a name and face to the war.”
Pahlow and his fellow Boys Nation senators visited the memorials on the National Mall on Sunday night, including the Korean War and World War II memorials.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The wreath dedicated at Sunday morning’s memorial service was laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a ceremony Monday morning. New York senators Cole Bjornson and Ian Chung laid the wreath with National Commander Vincent J. “Jim” Troiola and National Chaplain Mark Antal.
Afterwards, the senators roamed the cemetery, visiting the graves of notables and more personal figures alike. A group of them joined Antal at the grave of Col. Samuel Drew, a friend of his who was killed in Bosnia. “He was an aeronautical engineer; he was a pilot for the United States Air Force,” Antal told them.
The group also visited the grave of Army Spc. Stephan Mace, who died during the COP Keating battle in Afghanistan in 2009.
“It’s very sobering, seeing the miles and miles of graves of those who served,” said Clint Ellison of Virginia, Mace’s home state. “… It definitely hits close to home, because that’s a young man in his 20s.”
Although Rhode Island’s Aidan Simao was visiting Arlington for the third time, it’s still an impactful place.
“Just to think of all the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation, who rest here, it’s extremely moving just to be here,” Simao said.
Follow the happenings at American Legion Boys Nation at legion.org/boysnation, on YouTube at americanlegionHQ, and on social media on Twitter (@ALBoysNation) and Instagram (@theamericanlegion) with the hashtag #BoysNation2023.
