Missouri Post 55 brings Memorial Day observations into the community to ensure fallen servicemembers are not forgotten.
Steve Gumble, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and director of Emmett J. Shields American Legion Riders Chapter 55 in Hannibal, Mo., understands that Memorial Day does mean parties, sales and the start of summer for many.
And that’s okay with him, as long as the true meaning of Memorial Day isn’t forgotten in the process.
“We all see the Memorial Day sale, OK. But let’s show the respect that’s due,” Gumble said. “There’s a reason why you have this day, this three-day weekend for you to kick off your summer. It’s because other people died so you can do this. People gave their lives for the freedom that you have today.
“Respect needs to be shown. If we let it slip by, we are mistaken. The Riders and the Legion and any veteran who lets this slip by without paying homage has made a mistake. We can’t make that mistake.”
There was no chance of that happening on Memorial Day in Hannibal, where members of Post 55’s American Legion Family were the organizers of nine services at various area locations over the course of the day. Post 55 hosted a longer service that morning and then had shorter ones on the city’s riverfront and at area cemeteries.
“We want (the community to remember) … the ones who have fallen before, because Memorial Day is about them,” Post 55 Commander Maria Poindexter said. “We want to honor them. Without them, our freedom wouldn’t be here. Memorial Day is a time to remember the fallen. It’s a time for us to gather together as families … for us to remember our past.”
While wanting to involve the community, Poindexter said it’s important for Legion posts to observe Memorial Day in some way, even if it’s in a private setting, including, “just gathering together, honoring each other, memories, sharing different stories. It’s also a healing kind of process when everybody gets together.”
But Post 55’s effort did include the community and brought a full house to Post 55’s ceremony, including Hannibal Mayor Darrell McCoy. The program included placing a wreath to honor each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, U.S. wars and conflicts, and various local veteran service organizations.
“It’s really nice, because it shows they’re supporting us,” Poindexter said of the attendance. “And we do give back to the community a lot. Having the community here to support us means a lot.”
Post 55 Sergeant-at-Arms and honor guard member Bob Koehn served as the keynote speaker during the service at the post and then was a part of five other Legion services throughout the day.
During his remarks, Koehn noted, “It is the veteran, not the politician, that gave us our freedom. The true heroes are not the quarterbacks that successfully execute ‘Hail Mary’ passes or baseball players who get the walk-off home runs. It isn’t the Hollywood actors who look good dodging imaginary bullets and fake explosions.
“It is the military veterans, the police officers, the firefighters and others who risk – and far too often lose their lives – protecting and defending all of us. Heroes that we honor today are not exclusive to any gender, race or religion. They come from all classes and all backgrounds. They are a diverse group wedded to the belief that America is a nation worth dying for.”
Being able to share the reason for Memorial Day is important for Koehn. “It means everything to me,” he said. “I’ve always been very patriotic, and any time I can convey that patriotism or the idea behind it to anyone I come in contact with, I try to do that. We need to remember all those that gave their lives. They were willing to give up their life for us, so we could live with the freedom we have today.
“Any time I have the opportunity to share that with community members, I do that. And most of the time I find they feel the same way. They may not be as outspoken or show it outwardly, but they feel the same way. We need to keep that fire alive among our fellow citizens.”
The post’s main service also drew media attention, with CBS/ABC affiliate KHQA showing up to cover the event. Poindexter said it’s important to reach out to local media to get its efforts out in the community at a time when she says remembering those who’ve served has waned.
“I went out and just started talking to different news people … in our community,” she said. “I just started to get people involved.”
Following the post ceremony, and then the placing of a poppy in the Mississippi at the Hannibal riverfront, members of the post split up, with the honor guard visiting four area cemeteries and the Riders visiting three others. At each cemetery, following the placing of a poppy and a prayer, either the honor guard or the Riders delivered a rifle volley that followed with a member playing taps.
One of the cemeteries visited by the Riders was a former slave cemetery that now also has veterans among its gravesites. “We will show our respect,” Gumble said. “I don’t care race, creed, color, it does not matter. You are a veteran.”
Gumble said being able to bring Memorial Day and its meaning to the community is an honor – and a responsibility.
“We’re showing our support for the veterans who won’t come home and the families that have lost loved ones,” Gumble said. “Those families will never be whole, and we’re here to show our support.
“To be able to reach out and to have ceremonies … to bring the community in and let them remember the blood and the sacrifice and the tears that were shed not only on this lands but on other lands … we appreciate the citizens showing up and paying homage and showing their respect.”
Earlier in the day, the Grand View Funeral Home & Burial Park hosted a community service and flag ceremony that saw Post 55’s honor guard both post the colors inside for the service and then deliver a rifle volley outside.
The service’s guest speaker, Staff Sgt. Sally Clayton with the Missouri National Guard’s 3175th Military Police Company, said that Memorial Day, “is about honoring and giving thanks to those who made the ultimate sacrifice during their service to this country and showing gratitude to those who have since passed away. These heroes laid down their lives in deserts, jungles, oceans and skies to fight battles so that most of us would never have to.”
Clayton became emotional toward the end of her remarks when she turned her thoughts to the family members of fallen military. “Every wife and husband, child and parent, sibling and grandparent, you have carried the weight of absence with quiet courage,” she said. “We know that your sacrifice did not end the day that they gave theirs. Thank you for sharing your loved ones with this country. Thank you for your strength in carrying a weight that most of us will never have to. You remind us that freedom is defended on the battlefield, but it is upheld by those left behind. We see you, and we stand with you.”
- Memorial Day