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‘Defend Values’

City Honors Those Who Made Ultimate Sacrifice

Pictured are the 2019 Memorial Day festivities in Jamestown. P-J file photos by Eric Zavinski

“One person can make a difference,” Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi said at the city’s Memorial Day remembrance ceremony at Lake View Cemetery. “They just can’t do it by themselves.”

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Sentiments of honoring the sacrifices of United States servicemen and women echoed throughout a sun-soaked community Monday as Jamestown’s Memorial Day Parade brought hundreds of residents outside to remember the fallen and the virtues they have harbored.

“They didn’t volunteer to die,” pointed out Doug Kibbe, keynote speaker, U.S. Air Force veteran and lead pastor for Church on the Rock in Lakewood. “They volunteered to defend values.”

Veterans and somber residents alike made note of that sobering fact with bowed heads and hands on hearts, from when the “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played by the volunteer Jamestown Municipal Band to when the American Flag was raised from half-staff to full-staff around noon.

Brothers George, Dave and Dan Schwob raised the flag at The Soldier’s Circle, which was dotted with dozens of miniature American Flags and U.S. veteran markers. Since 2006, George Schwob has participated in the ceremony, and this year, his siblings were right beside him.

A Jamestown police officer salutes the American Flag as it is carried through the end of the Jamestown Memorial Day Parade along Prendergast Avenue and leading into the Lake View Cemetery.

“We do this in honor of our family,” George Schwob said. “This has been a family tradition.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Schwobs’ grandfather passing away. Since the early 20th century, the family has been helping out with the Lake View Cemetery remembrances through the generations. When the three brothers’ father passed away 13 years ago, George Schwob knew it was time to begin raising the American Flag.

“It’s pretty great we’re all up on the hill at the same time,” Dan Schwob said.

Dave Schwob played taps on his bugle while Dan and George Schwob raised the American Flag after bagpipes sounded and Teresi and several other community members had dedicated wreaths to honor veterans who gave their lives.

“These brave people left the safety of our sovereign soil to defeat tyrants, to ensure justice and to fulfill the promise of safety and security for our citizens and for the global community,” Kibbe said. “We are all either directly or indirectly then touched by the ultimate sacrifice these military men and women made in service to their country.”

That truth was evident this Memorial Day as high school and middle school bands, scout units, veterans organizations and volunteers came out in full force to march down Fourth Street and Prendergast Avenue. The United Veterans Council of Jamestown organized the ceremony and parade, which featured a unit consisting of several Jamestown veterans that the committee helped recognize.

“If we continue to honor and remember those who have served our nation, I really believe that compassion will prevail,” Kibbe said. “Justice will triumph. And democracy and freedom will continue to reign.

“And I can’t help but be grateful for those (servicemen and women) who stood shoulder to shoulder against genocide, terror and oppression to carry freedom’s torch in foreign lands. So it’s right and good to honor those heroes of the past, who served this country on land, air and sea, and be grateful that they were willing to make the supreme sacrifice — their very lives.”

Follow Eric Zavinski at twitter.com/EZavinski

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