'A true community event'

Veterans Day ceremonies are not restricted to a span of two or three days. Such is the case with the annual ceremony held at the Union County World War II Honor Roll in Mifflinburg, Pa. According to Doug Walter, who organizes the observance and is president of the Union County Veterans Foundation, theirs is held at the monument the Saturday before Veterans Day; “there are so many dinners and breakfasts, holding it when we do it helps attendance,” he says.

This year – with appearances by a minister, a local Gold Star Family, the Boy and Girl Scouts, and the Shikellamy High School JROTC serving as color guard – there was an additional occasion to mark: the 20th anniversary of the honor roll, first brought to life by a pair of Legionnaires. One was Al Hess, Walter’s father-in-law, who died in March 2022; the other was Drew Machamer, who died in 2005. The two belonged to Ray L. Ulrich Post 841 in nearby Montandon. The original honor roll was made of wood, and after years of deterioration it was torn down. What Walter calls “the dynamic duo” conceived a plan to build an updated – and permanent – one.

The new honor roll, dedicated in November 2003, “contains the 2,260 names of those who served from our county in World War II,” Walter says. “They used 19 different sources to secure all the names – mostly the VA office, churches, schools and family records.” To meet the $200,000 cost, donations from the public were solicited, and Hess and Machamer put their homes up as collateral.

Walter got involved 15 years ago. “Attendance at the ceremony was embarrassing, as we were lucky to have two dozen people there,” he comments. “As I assisted my father-in-law, we reached out to churches, and that immediately bumped up the attendance. The Facebook page and newspaper articles have gotten us to the point we are now.” He and his wife, Tracy, do much of the work of the foundation now. The 2023 ceremony had around 200 attendees and “a flawless program.” The yearly observance also includes a benefit for the VA home in nearby Hollidaysburg, which last year raised more than $1,900 along with personal-care and clothing items.

“As I started assisting my father-in-law, it was my goal to turn what we are doing into a true community event, and we have accomplished that,” Walter says. “We even get people involved from neighboring counties; there is a woman in her 90s who each year makes blankets for us to take to the VA home. Her husband served, and that is why she is so dedicated.”