American Legion Post 213 planned on reading every one of the nearly 407,000 names of U.S. servicemembers killed in World War II during a 75-hour VJ-Day event. But because of coronavirus concerns, the post will now read all of the names during public events between now and Veterans Day.
Around 14 or so years ago, Emerson Marshall Sherwood American Legion Post 213 in Maryland Heights, Mo., staged a Pearl Harbor ceremony that included a reading of the names of those killed during the attack. The reading of the names had “an effect on most of the guys there and a profound effect on me,” Post 213 Finance Officer Mike LeBlanc said.
The readings continued, and a few years later – in 2012 – St. Louis was the host for a parade honoring the men and women who served in Iraq following 9/11, as well as other veterans. The night before, Post 213 provided the public with a reading of the more than 6,800 U.S. servicemembers who died following 9/11. That, said LeBlanc, “is where we really started to gain momentum. It was just a magnificent affair.”
Since then, the post has done live readings of the names of those who gave their lives during the Vietnam and Korean Wars, as well as D-Day. And with the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II happening this year, the post planned an even more ambitious endeavor: reading the name of every U.S. military personnel who died during World War II – nearly 407,000 names over a 75-hour period from 10 different reading stations during Memorial Day weekend. The event was then moved back to VJ Day weekend because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But with COVID-19 concerns continuing to loom over the ceremony, alterations needed to be made to the post’s “Reading of the Fallen WWII.” The post instead chose to use VJ Day to read the names of the 9,873 fallen servicemembers from Missouri during World War II, and going forward are going to try to publicly read around 5,000 names a day between now and Veterans Day, going state by state and looking to team up with other organizations to stage the events.
“I was upset with myself that I couldn’t pull (the full VJ Day event) off,” said LeBlanc, a Vietnam veteran, past District 10 and Post 213 commander, and the event organizer. “So the idea then was, let’s do the Missouri fallen, and then starting the Monday after we’ll take it in bite-sized chunks. We’ve got 390,000 names left.”
The VJ Day event took place at Sylvan Springs Park in St. Louis, which was built in 1939 and was used as a U.S. Army recruit training depot. Post 213 has used the location for all of its previous reading of the names of the fallen. The future readings will take place at various locations, LeBlanc said. Other American Legion posts have reached out to LeBlanc to take part in the effort. “We’ve got grass-roots, organic movement that want to start doing this,” he said.
LeBlanc said it’s important the names are read publicly. “Our belief is that I could sit in my office at home and I could do 5,000 a day at my house,” he said. “If I do it in a private setting, it’s just me and the name. I think I have to do it in public to mean something.”
The reading of the names can get emotional. “Every reading has its own nuances,” LeBlanc said. “With post-9/11, there were people (at the reading) who served with these guys and gals. It was very powerful. With Vietnam … you would see six Marines all killed on the same date, same time. Korea, same way.
“With the World War II names, they are listed by county. You get into these counties, and some of these counties are small and may only have six to 10 names. But when three of the names are the same (last) name, you start to imagine. That’s the sacrifice. It hits hard knowing that family … I don’t know how you recover. That’s why we do it.”
Connecticut
Godreau-McMahon Post 91 has conducted an annual VJ Day parade since 1961. Due to the pandemic, this year Post 91 adapted to a virtual event on Aug. 9 that was streamed by radio station WINY. Watch the event here.
Virginia
In Martinsville and Henry County, city and county leaders joined others in visiting six World War II veterans on VJ Day. Observing social distancing, the group visited the veterans at their residences to thank them for their service. Included in the group were members of Homer Dillard Post 78 in Martinsville. Each veteran was presented with an American flag and a letter from U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith.
- Honor & Remembrance