By Mike Finney

DOVER — Dennis Killian and Lamark Bell were reading the names of 90 Kent County veterans who have died over the past year when there was a pause.

It was during a Memorial Day service Monday at Delaware Veterans Post 2, and Mr. Killian showed firsthand what brothers-in-arms mean to each other, becoming emotional with the name of Ken Shouldis.

“It’s an honor to get to read the names of these veterans who served our country,” said Mr. Killian, a 20-year Air Force member, “but that one name was especially difficult because he was my friend.”

That moment brought out the stark reality that every fallen veteran leaves behind for friends, family members and comrades.

It’s what Memorial Day is all about.

And it was a sentiment shared by retired Col. Myron T. Steele, who served as the guest speaker at the ceremony, moved from its typical outside location in downtown Dover due to threatening weather.

“Memorial Day is not, in my mind, a day for barbecues and lovely trips down what was (U.S.) 13 for most of us but is now Route 1 to the beach,” he said. “Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and awe for what others have done for us.”

In addition to his Army National Guard service — as a staff judge advocate for the 261st Signal Command and as an inspector general — Mr. Steele is a Delaware native and a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

He said that he prefers the original name for Memorial Day: Decoration Day.

“On May 30, 1868, some Union Army veterans decided that the graves of their fellows that perished in war — not limited to their side but all soldiers — should be honored with decorative flowers.

“They chose the end of May on the theory that the weather and flowers would be available in every state for every grave. They named it Decoration Day, hence the flowers decorating the grave.”

He reminded ceremony attendees that it is a day to honor the 1.3 million servicemen and -women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the United States.

“It’s a staggering figure in my mind to note two credible sources that have said that, since Bunker Hill (in the American Revolution), 1.3 American soldiers have died during a war, either on the soil or off the soil,” he said.

Mr. Steele also pointed out that, on Memorial Day, in every time zone in the country, individuals are urged to pause whatever they may be doing at 3 p.m. and remember those sacrifices.

“The purpose of that moment of silence is to make sure that we understand that Memorial Day is not a party day but a day to think about those who died in their service to the country and provided us, by doing so, with the opportunities that we have today,” he said.

Mr. Steele ended his remarks by recalling one particular soldier.

“A veteran of Bunker Hill (was) Logan Wallace, (at) the first battle from which we started tracing the number of people who fell for the cause,” he said. “His mother wrote him a letter and suggested to him that she did not want him to go to another battle at Lexington and Concord and put himself at risk.

“Here’s what he said in response: ‘Wherever danger is, dear Mother, there will your son be. Now is no time for one of America’s children to shrink from the most hazardous duty. I will either set my country free, or shed my last drop of blood to make her so.’”

Mr. Wallace later died at Bunker Hill.

Monday’s service was the latest in a long line of DelVets Memorial Day observances.

Dawn Hill, vice commander of the Dover post, said the organization has been having such ceremonies for more than 50 years.

The group alternates hosting the gathering with American Legion Walter L. Fox Post 2 each year.

“It’s very important to our veterans who are currently serving and the ones in the past, and we are honored to be able to do this,” Ms. Hill said.

Staff writer Mike Finney can be reached at 302-741-8230 or mfinney@iniusa.org.
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