Memorial Day evolved from Decoration Day observances after the Civil War in which people decorated graves of soldiers who died in the conflict with flowers. Various communities claim that their ceremonies originated the ritual. After World War I tributes came to embrace honoring the dead of all of our nation’s wars. Now observed on the last Monday in May (in order to assure a three-day weekend to kick-start the summer), in Riverton, at least, the day also serves as another way to honor the military service of our Borough’s citizens by adding their names to the War Memorial.
The distinguished Honor Roll of military veterans listed on the Riverton War Memorial grew by ten names during a tribute directed by Mayor Bill Brown and Robert Smyth, Chairman of Riverton’s Military & Veterans Affairs Committee.
Uniformed members of VFW Post 3020 and American Legion Post 146, both of Riverside, lent solemnity to the occasion with a display of colors, a wreath laying, and rifle salute. A moving prayer gave everyone a moment to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.
A respectful crowd applauded for each of the ten names Robert Smyth read aloud. Mayor Brown explained that new wood plaques with metal nameplates will eventually replace the memorial’s original lists that date from 1945.
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- Richard N. Buckalew
- Theresa Buckalew
- James Hamlin
- William A. Kupper Jr.
- George J. Mack Jr.
- Elliot Richardson III
- Robert E. Richardson
- Frank Siefert
- Herman R. Trout Jr.
- Samuel Wargny
This update of the Honor Roll Album includes the ten names listed above, photos of Paul V. Daly, Jr. and Richard and Theresa Buckalew, plus several more New Era news clippings. The burgeoning PowerPoint has grown to almost 60MB and a reader recently reported difficulty in downloading it, so a 12MB PDF is now available as an alternative.
If you would like a higher resolution file of any image on the Album please ask and I will send it to you.
Riverton Veterans Album PPSX Riverton Veterans Album PDF
Many veterans are not represented in the Album with a photo. Please contact us if you can supply a scan of a veteran’s photo, a news clipping, or some such military memorabilia suggestive of their service era.
Jackie Buckalew Hicks tells me that she posted a link on Facebook with a note to let others know how to go about adding their parents’ names to the Memorial. Thanks, Jackie. We need all of the help we can get. Scroll all the way down the page to find our Facebook button and please “like” us. – John McCormick, Gaslight News editor
