Mike Wolanin | The Republic Bartholomew County Veterans Honor Guard member Charles Ping carries an American flag before the Memorial Day service at the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans in Columbus, Ind., Monday, May 30, 2022.
THE 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans took place during the annual Community Memorial Day Service.
About 170 people attended the 25-minute ceremony Monday next to the memorial. While the $750,000 landmark was initially paid by private donations, repairs and maintenance has been picked up by the county.
During the service, Pastor Patrick Glasser of Mount Auburn Christian Church summarized the purpose of Monday’s observance in his invocation.
“May we not forget the sacrifices (our fallen military) paid,” Glasser said. “May their honor live on, and may their memories be carried by each of the family members and friends who gather here today.”
Among the names read aloud at the ceremony were: Architect Nolan Bingham (May 31,2021); business owner and volunteer firefighter Tom Finke (March 20, 2022); psychiatrist Sherman Franz (June 19, 2021); agribusiness proprietor Marvin Glick (Dec.26, 2021); developer Roy Medaris (Aug. 25, 2021); orthopedic surgeon Otto Wickstrom (June 25, 2021); orthodontist Dr. Ben Pence (June 11, 2021) and real estate executive Scott Taskey (Jan 1, 2022).
The event included long-standing traditions such as the laying of wreaths by the Gold Star Mothers, the American Legion and VFW Auxiliary presidents, and members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Three-rifle volleys and TAPS were provided by the Bartholomew County Honor Guard.
The 11 a.m. service was the third Memorial Day service to be held Monday morning. Two hours earlier, the first ceremony of the morning attracted about 20 participants to the northbound pedestrian walkway of the Robert N. Stewart Bridge.
“This ceremony is the throwing of the rose petals or flowers into East Fork White River,” retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Johnnie Travis. “It remembers all those who died in battle at sea, or en route to other locations at sea.”
Largely religious in nature and sponsored by the AMVETS organization, the second observance was held at 10 a.m. in the veteran’s section at Garland Brook Cemetery.
Among the almost 40 people in attendance was Gary Everroad and his 17-year-old son, Adam Everroad, who has attended the Garland Brook ceremony every year since he was 4.
“It was very respectful for those we have lost, and it’s a good thing that we honor those who have fallen and given their lives for our country,” Adam Everroad said.
His grandfather was Robert Everroad, a combat engineer in World War II with the Third Army under General George S. Patton.
“He helped build the first pontoon bridge over the Rhine River,” Gary Everroad said.
But on a more somber note, he recalled how his father became very solemn every Christmas. He later learned that Robert Everroad and his squad were called out on a Christmas Eve mission. Three members of his unit were killed, and Robert ended up sleeping while buried with snow to avoid being spotted by the Germans, Gary Everroad said.
He said that his father died in 2010.
One of those recognized at the Garland Brook cemetery has never been in the military. As her senior project, Columbus East High School graduate Lauren Mays set out to clean the headstones of 50 veterans, but didn’t stop until she cleaned 75 stones, according to Sgt. Major Rick Caldwell of the American Veterans (AMVETS) organization
Mays had also presented Caldwell’s organization with an original painting she created of soldiers struggling to raise a flag that is reminiscent of the U.S. Marine’s Iwo Jima Memorial.
