Fifteen minutes into the flag-waving, holiday extravaganza of the annual SALUTE! concert, soprano vocalist and Columbus native Abigail Beerwart drove home the point of the 19th annual event with the Hoosier-penned song "Honor."
Backed by the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, she sang:
We say thank you for your gift of service.
We say thank you for your gift of care.
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Thank you to these honored servants,
Keepers of the land, sea and air.
The tune was just one of many laden with gratitude before a sun-splashed, larger-than-normal estimated crowd of 6,000 on Friday evening at the Bartholomew County Memorial For Veterans at Second and Washington streets in downtown Columbus.
The free event, the brainchild of late Republic associate editor Harry McCawley in 2000, has become a local Memorial Day weekend tradition and the Philharmonic’s largest production.
It regularly attracts everyone from young parents with babies in strollers to military veterans in their 80s and 90s. And most years, there are enough star-spangled caps, polo shirts, sunglasses and even dresses in the throng to serve as a visible paean to patriotism.
"We’re here tonight to celebrate freedom," said a stars-and-stripes-bedecked David Bowden, music director and conductor of the Philharmonic since its beginning in 1987.
Bowden has a personal connection to the concert’s mission. His late father-in-law, who used to attend some of the concerts, served in World War II as a B-17 bombardier.
Listening to Bowden’s welcome were veterans such as Edinburgh resident Robert Sharon, who served in the U.S. Army in northern Italy from 1966 to 1968. His father was a member of the Greatest Generation from World War II.
"It’s rare to get to hear such a really good symphony orchestra at something like this," Sharon said, praising the ensemble during a musical warm-up as if it were his own. "Most cities don’t have anything like this."
He added, though, that he worries about future patriotism "because they just don’t seem to be teaching it today in the schools. And that’s too bad because there are a lot of people these days who don’t even know what D-Day was."
He referred to the World War II day on which Allied forces invaded northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy.
Yet, plenty of military personnel at the gathering could have offered more than enough background and education.
Indiana Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Rhine serves with the Headquarters Battery Second Battalion 150th Field Artillery based in Bloomington. At the concert, he was part of a crew of soldiers helping youngsters and others get a up-close look at the gleaming black 105mm howitzers parked at Second and Jackson streets.
The booming weapons were used during the orchestra’s closing number "The 1812 Overture." Yet, nearly a half hour after a pre-concert test-firing, the acrid smell of gunpowder and sulfur still hung heavy in the hot, spring air.
But the military cannons were overshadowed a bit this year by four Humvees parked right outside The Republic Building, in Rhine’s estimation of the children’s reactions.
"The Humvees are what they see on TV all the time," Rhine said. "And they see the toys and models of them. So they really get excited now about the vehicles."
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Coming Monday in Columbus:
- 9 a.m. — Tossing of rose petals into East Fork White River from the Robert N. Stewart Bridge. This ceremony honors all military personnel who died in naval engagements.
- 10 a.m. – Ceremony at the Veteran’s section of Garland Brook Cemetery. This ceremony is designed to be more religious in substance that other local observances. With more than 3,000 veterans buried in Columbus’ largest cemetery, this ceremony has been held annually since 1972.
- 11 a.m. – Community Memorial Day observance at the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans, southwest of the county courthouse. Former Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong, a Vietnam War veteran, will be guest speaker.
- 12:30 to 2 p.m. — Free lunch at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1987, 215 N. National Road in Columbus. Ham salad, chips, cookie and beverage.
Memorial Day ceremonies conducted by American Legion Post 229 in Hope
- 8:30 a.m. – Sharon Cemetery, on County Road 700E
- 8:50 a.m. – Newbern Cemetery, Newbern
- 9:15 a.m. – Hartsville Town Square, Hartsville
- 9:40 a.m. – Hawcreek Church Cemetery, County Road 900E/Stafford Rd
- 10 a.m. – Simmons Cemetery, County Roads 625E and 950N.
- 10:15 a.m. – Old St Louis Cemetery, County Road 670E (south of 800N)
- 10:30 a.m. – Jackson Street Bridge, West Jackson Street, Hope
- 11 a.m. – Hope Area Veterans Memorial, Hope Moravian Cemetery
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2
Concert guest artists
4
U.S. Army howitzers on hand
19
Years for the concert
6,000
Estimated attendance
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