While Mustang community participates, Legion Post 353 holds remembrance ceremony on Memorial Day

By Jacob Sturm

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A powerful ceremony of remembrance occurred in Mustang Cemetery on Monday morning.

Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for those military personnel who died defending the United States while serving, was honored thoughtfully thanks to the work of the American Legion Post 353 and the Mustang High School ROTC at the pavilion inside Mustang Cemetery in front of a full crowd.

The ceremony included a reading of the John McCrae poem “In Flanders Fields”, a speech delivered by Canadian County Sheriff Chris West and a 21-gun salute from members of Legion Post 353 to honor the fallen.

West started his speech to the crowd characterizing Memorial Day by the words remember and honor.

“I think as you look around today here at the Cemetery, you can see that there’s actually action put into those two words,” West said. “… I’m really inspired today to see the youth that’s involved. We have to continue to perpetually make sure that our upcoming generations are aware that freedom is not free. There’s been blood spilled around the globe to make sure that this nation stays free.”

West said he doesn’t view Memorial Day as a red day or a blue day. He said he sees it as a red, white and blue day and reiterated that every race, ethnicity and religion across the globe have served in some way to keep the nation free.

Multiple famous figures in American History were quoted in West’s speech, including the likes of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and George Bush.

“This is a somber time to remember those,” West said. “I’m sure most of us, if not all of us, have brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles, grandparents’ generations back that never made it back from the battlefield. So, this is a somber time to be thankful for the sacrifices that they made.”

West circled back to the words remember and honor to wrap up the speech. He said honor is an action verb, and reiterated that they best way to remember is through action displayed by honor.

He also stated his thankfulness for the members of previous generations who made the sacrifice, and also for the future generations who will make the choice to answer the call to keep the country free.

Paul Ray, a member of American Legion Post 353, stated his thoughts of the ceremony at its conclusion.

“This feels good,” Ray said. “We do this for our fallen brothers and sisters, and to see the people of the City of Mustang give us this kind of support, it means a lot. It means that they, the people, feel the same way that we do… We fought for them, and to see them show their appreciation, to see them show their gratitude is extremely gratifying to us.”

“We do this for our brothers and sisters, and when the people honor them as we honor them, that’s important,” Ray said.

As for Legion Post 353, the Memorial Day remembrance remains an important event to treat with respect and care. The ceremony, while solemn, meets that critical standard.

One of the final things done before the conclusion of the ceremony was the 21-gun salute by the Post 353 Honor Guard, followed by the playing of TAPS.

“If we didn’t have anyone out here other than us, we would be out here,” Ray said. “This is the day that we remember our fallen brothers and sisters. This is the day that we cry.”