WILLIAMS TWP., Pa. – Every year, on the Sunday before Memorial Day, Williams Township residents gather in Municipal Park to honor members of the armed forces who have died, living military veterans and active-duty service members.
- More than 200 people gathered in Williams Township's Municipal Park on Sunday to honor veterans killed in the line of duty
- Members of local Scout troops, two area pastors, Williams Township Elementary School students, military veterans and more participated in the ceremonies
- The event was sponsored by the committee that built the Memorial to Fallen Heroes near the township’s offices
More than 200 people came this holiday weekend, most of them with their own lawn chairs in tow — enough for nearly every speaker to note how many people had joined them. The service was put on by the committee that created the Memorial to Fallen Heroes near the township’s offices.
In this year’s program, Korean War veteran John Fretz Sr. laid a wreath at the memorial, giving a salute to the names of fallen soldiers from the township inscribed there.
Township resident Peter Thompson read each name as a bell tolled.
Kevin Strawn, pastor of Bangor-based Hope Ministries of Pa., gave the keynote address. Strawn served two tours on the USS Enterprise during his time in the Navy, and retired as a captain from the New Jersey Army National Guard.
“We came here today to honor the fallen soldiers — the ones who gave up the largest sacrifice anybody can ever give, and that’s their life. And if you really reflect on that, what’s it take to go and do that?” said Strawn.
“They did that because of the love of nation. The love of their fellow man,” Strawn said.
Alex Zukowski, a member of Scout Troop 31, read the Gettysburg Address in honor of seven township residents who died in the battle. The Wilson Area High School Band, under direction of teacher Nick Hall, played the service songs for each branch of the armed forces, as fourth-graders from Williams Township Elementary School held up the branch’s flag.
Afterward, an honor guard from Northampton County’s detachment of the Marine Corps League, a veterans’ organization for the Corps, performed a rifle salute.
“Most of the country doesn’t take that minute to remember.”Pastor Walter Alpaugh of Christ Evangelical Congregational Church of Williams Township
This year’s community recognition award, which honors someone in the township for their patriotism, went to Terri Hineline for her role in bringing national veteran memorial programs home to Williams Township and her work with Meals on Wheels.
Closing the evening’s ceremonies with a benediction, Pastor Walter Alpaugh of Christ Evangelical Congregational Church of Williams Township encouraged the crowd to take a moment on Memorial Day to pause and remember the veterans who have died in the line of duty.
“Most of the country doesn’t take that minute to remember,” he said.
