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Washington Evening Journal
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Memorial Day observance well attended in Ainsworth
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
AINSWORTH — A solemn but grateful crowd gathered in Ainsworth Monday to honor Memorial Day with a brief speech, a gun salute and taps.
While modest, the small town’s annual ceremony continues to draw a considerable crowd for its population, as it has for generations before. The steady attendance is a point of pride for the community.
“If we don’t have a formal ceremony, it’s not going to keep going, we’re not going to keep the memories of this,” said Greg Skubal, an American Legion member in Ainsworth. “We talk about it every year, our attendance seems like it’s maintained.”
It’s especially pertinent as many veterans who once frequented such ceremonies have passed away. First-time keynote speaker Isaac Skubal — Greg Skubal’s son — said he was glad to see so many families in the audience, even generations removed from any relatives who have served in the armed forces.
“I was struck this morning as I came here, by how many years I’ve sat in the bleachers listening to stories, or didn’t listen,” he said in his address. “Several of those men that I watched file in every morning, they aren’t here now … as our country seems to be in a lot of turmoil over the last few years, it is encouraging to see the families who still show up, the people who still show up, after all these years.”
For American Legion Member Mike Hall, one of the uniformed attendees to fire the gun salute Monday morning, it was an honor to be involved.
“I’m not very civic-minded, you understand, but I’m proud to do this,” he said. “We don’t do much, but I like doing it anyway … I didn’t do combat, but the esprit de corps is still there, you’re all in the same boat.”
For some locals, the holiday brings family to town. That’s certainly the case for Nicole Patterson, an Ainsworth native whose numerous relatives from Minnesota converge on Washington County every year to visit the grave of her grandfather, who was a veteran.
“We’re just proud that he served, and for our freedom,” she said.
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
