Memorial Day services planned in the Lakeland

   Monday, May 30, is Memorial Day. Many Lakeland area events are being held in conjunction with the holiday. The following is a list of some of the area’s Memorial Day services and activities.

Buddy poppy sale

  VFW Post #772 and Ladies Auxiliary will be offering Buddy Poppies in return for a donation on Friday and Saturday, May 27-28,  at various business locations in the communities of Longville and Remer. The Buddy Poppy slogan is  “to honor the dead by helping the living.” Donations received through the drive are used to fund programs at Veterans hospitals and homes throughout Minnesota, in addition to aiding active service members and families as needed. 

Backus

   Pastor Blair Eckert of the Foothills Christian Academy will deliver the Memorial Day address at Evergreen and Ponto Lake cemeteries conducted by the Backus American Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of the Legion.

      Backus services will begin at 10 a.m. at Evergreen Cemetery, and the Ponto Lake service will follow the conclusion of the Backus memorial at approximately 11 a.m., both on Monday, May 30. In event of bad weather, services will be moved to the Legion clubrooms in Backus and Ponto Lake Town Hall. A lunch will follow at the Post.

Hackensack

   The Hackensack American Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion will conduct Memorial Day services again this year. The services, conducted by the Auxiliary, will start at the Finnely Cemetery just off 43rd Avenue NE on Sunday, May 29 at 1:00 p.m. The Finnely Cemetery contains the graves of about 30 early settlers to the Hackensack area. The first burial was 1900 and the last was 1923 when the cemetery was closed. The cemetery fell into disrepair until it was reclaimed by the Auxiliary about 30 years ago. Some graves are unmarked and some are simply marked with a rock while others are marked with a simple concrete or limestone marker. 

   On Monday, May 30th at 10:00 AM, the Hackensack American Legion Post 202, Auxiliary and the SAL will present a Memorial Day service. The service will start at 10:00 AM at the Cass County Killed in Action Memorial in the City Park across the street from the Post Office in Hackensack. The service will include a parade to the Boy River where a wreath will be placed to honor Navy and Coast Guard veterans. 

   Beginning at 10:30 a.m., formal services will be held at the Hillcrest Cemetery. The service will include a roll call of 432 deceased veterans from all conflicts, including some from the Civil War. The guest speaker will be Pastor Leif Aspelund from St Paul’s Lutheran Church. Pastor Leif was a chaplain in the Air Force and retired as a Major.  

   In the event of rain, services will be held at the Hackensack American Legion. 

Longville

  Longville’s Memorial Day Program will begin at 9:00 a.m., on Monday, May 30, at the Longville Fire Hall. Sherman A. Yocum VFW Post #772 Honor Guard will provide military honors. The Longville Community Choir will also perform. The guest speaker will be Longville area resident and past President of the Scions of the 17th Airborne Division, Jeff Schumacher. 

   Scions of the 17th Airborne Division, Inc.” is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is “to honor the service of all veterans of the 17th and to educate others about the history and sacrifices made by the troopers who served in this division during  World War II.

   In recent years, a group of European WWII reenactors and whose mission is similar to that of the Scions spearheaded an effort to bring attention to the 17th Airborne, specifically in Belgium, Germany and the surrounding areas where the 17th served to liberate Europe. Their efforts included returning a 17th Airborne veteran each year to the areas where they had served in 1945, and to be recognized and honored for their Service, and that of their division comrades. In 2012 Schumacher was able to join his father John, (HQ/D Co., 194th Glider Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division) on a return visit.

   So began the Scions’ initiative to organize group trips and bring back descendants & family members of 17th soldiers and veterans to the areas where their husbands, fathers, uncles, grandfathers, great-grandfathers had served...to walk where they walked, and to witness how the returning veterans are welcomed and treated with honor, respect and with gratitude that - to this day - remains genuine and strong.

   On Memorial Day 2021, Schumacher attended the Memorial Day service in Longville. The speaker, Capt. Perry, made references to contributions from Cass County and Longville veterans and their final resting places in Europe. Realizing that he had visited these cemeteries during previous trips, he requested the names of these soldiers so that he could visit their graves during the next visit. This led to a donation from VFW Post 772 and Auxiliary that provided support for the mission. This donation directly served to make the travels of two 17th Airborne Veterans a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, and provided them with the additional comfort they deserved - and earned.  Troopers Gilbert Herrera (B Co.,194th Glider Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division) and Richard Weaver (Division HQ, 17th Airborne Division) returned to Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany this past October of 2021 to retrace their footsteps from 1945 and to be honored by those they liberated.  Both troopers were accompanied by family members who were able to see them being honored after nearly 77 years. To find out more visit www.17thscions.org

Remer 

   Remer’s Memorial Day Program begins at 2 p.m., on Monday, May 30, at the Fairview Cemetery. VFW Post #772 will be providing military honors and honor guard.