OLEAN — Oleanders remembered those who gave their lives for the nation on Monday.
In a roughly half-hour service led by the Olean American Legion, more than 100 people gathered at Lincoln Park for the observance.
Johnny Gordnier was the master of ceremonies, with Olean VFW Commander Terry Vaughn and Legion Commander Shaun App serving as officers of the day. Invocations and benedictions were given by the Rev. Kim Rossi of St. Stephen’s Episcopal and Bethany Lutheran churches.
“May we live in such a way that honors their memories,” Rossi said. “May their memory inspire us to do better in all that we do.”
Mayor Bill Aiello invoked the memories of several from the community who died during the Vietnam War, such as Lt. Col. Edwin Goodrich Jr. of 18th Street, who was killed after being shot down over Vietnam in 1967.
His body was recovered in 1985 and later returned for burial in the U.S.
Another mentioned was Daniel Henry, a U.S. Navy corpsman killed in a mortar attack during the Tet Offensive of 1968, who had been honored the year before with the Navy Cross for volunteering to help a surgeon amputate a soldier’s leg with a live 2.75-inch rocket lodged in it.
“Olean has had many fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave their lives for freedom. … Please let these touching stories of friends and neighbors remind you of what we celebrate this day,” Aiello said.
Former state Sen. Catharine Young, now a board member-elect for the Olean City School District, noted those who were lost are more than just “statistics” as so often remembered.
“They were people with families, with hopes and dreams,” she said, sharing letters from wounded and killed Civil War soldiers from the area which described their duty and love for the country.
She also noted her husband’s ancestor, Pvt. Ole Olson, was one of a number of Olean residents killed with Company I in 1918 during World War I. Olson was one of four whose bodies were repatriated in 1921 and buried with full honors.
“Every conflict, every war has had brave men and women of this area stand up … they loved so much that they paid the ultimate price,” she said.
State Assemblyman Joseph Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, asked attendees “to reflect on just how blessed we are to be Americans.
“There are folks who should have been here who are not,” he said, adding it is sad to think about the possibilities of the lives lost had they stayed home or survived the wars and contributed to their families and community. “But they felt it was worth something” to go and fight.
Olean Legion Scouts Packs 621 and 617 presented the colors and led the assembly in the pledge of allegiance. The Olean High School band and choir performed for the crowd, performing the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and “God Bless America”, respectively. The Legion’s ritual team fired three volleys, followed by an Olean High School band trumpeter playing “Taps.”
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, was created by the veterans groups the Grand Army of the Republic in 1868 to remember those killed to preserve the Union in the American Civil War. Over time, the day began to mark the losses of those in all American wars, with Congress formalizing the date in 1971 as the last Monday in May.
