Memorial Day services in Schuylkill County honor those who sacrificed all

Yahoo

26-05-2025

Amidst the picnics and good times that many enjoyed during Memorial Day weekend, Pastor Dennis Snyder urged those attending services in Cressona on Monday to appreciate those whom the holiday was meant to honor.
'Spend time remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice,' Snyder said in reference to American veterans who lost their lives while in service to the country during peace and war.
'Thank you for all you have done,' Snyder prayed to those deceased veterans during his invocation near the Cressona America Legion Post 286, which followed the borough's Memorial Day Parade.
Flag bearers lead a Memorial Day parade in Cressona, Monday, May 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Without the protection and freedoms that our veterans provided and the price they paid, America would not be the country it is, said Post 286-first vice commander Jim Turner.
In addition to the Cressona parade, Memorial Day parades and services were over the three-day weekend in Frackville, Schuylkill Haven, Pottsville, Minersville, New Philadelphia, Orwigsburg, Port Carbon and Tamaqua, and a concert was held in Pine Grove.
Danny Eifert gives a brief address during a Memorial Day ceremony in Cressona, Monday, May 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
The guest speaker at the Cressona service was Air Force veteran Curt Swoyer of Williamstown, a Vietnam-era veteran who specialized in handling ordnance and loading fighter and attack aircraft with weapons at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.
Swoyer spoke about how since America's beginnings it has fought for its own causes and that of other countries, with so many taking part in those conflicts.
Youngsters throw candy during a Memorial Day parade in Cressona, Monday, May 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
'Imagine being an 18-year-old and filling out a will because you didn't know if you would live to come home,' he said.
And imagine being the family of one of those killed in the line of duty, and the heartache that would bring, he said.
In Pottsville, a wreath-laying ceremony was also held in memory of Staff Sgt. Isabella 'Bella' Azaria Ixim of Pottsville, an Army Reserves veteran who passed away suddenly on Aug. 5 at Fort Leonard Wood Military Base in Missouri.
Ixim, 27, joined the Army in 2016. She trained in engineering and deployed twice to Jordan and Kuwait. During her eight years in the Army Reserves she rose to the rank of staff sergeant while working as a team leader for Walmart Distribution Center in Highridge Park. She and her husband, James Chavez had two children.
Titus Meck waves an American flag as his father Josiah holds him during a Memorial Day parade in Cressona, Monday, May 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Guest speaker at the Pottsville services was National Guard Maj. Gen. Laura McHugh of Pine Grove, a Bronze Star recipient and Iraq veteran.
She was appointed as Deputy Adjutant General-Army in April of 2021, after serving as chief of staff. She has held numerous diverse positions throughout her 39 years of service with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, including 213th Regional Support Group Commander, Joint Force Headquarters State G1, Service Member and Family Support Division Chief, and Recruiting and Retention Battalion Commander. Her most memorable assignment was her time serving as the 131st Transportation Company Commander, with whom she deployed to Iraq from February 2003-May 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Blue Mountain High School marching band plays during a Memorial Day parade in Cressona, Monday, May 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
In a ceremony Monday in New Philadelphia's public square, Lt. William Cullen, an officer with the 48th Pennsylvania Regiment who died in the Battle of Antietam Creek during the Civil War on Sept. 17, 1862, was remembered.
Schuylkill County Common Pleas Judge William Burke, a direct descendant, recalled Cullen's sacrifice.
Burke, who has deep family roots in New Philadelphia and neighboring Blythe Twp., recited a poem written by soldiers under Lt. Cullen's command the day after he died.
'Attention ye brave to this mournful story, that I am going to pen of a soldier so brave,' it read in part. 'Who started to reap a rich harvest of glory, but is now lying dead in his cold narrow grave.'
Cullen, who lived in the Silver Creek section of Blythe Twp., is buried at St. Stephen's Cemetery in Port Carbon.
'I'm so proud of him,' said Burke, who has had family members serve in World War II and Vietnam.
Lt. Cullen's willingness to serve and give his life for his country was testament to the sacrifices of all veterans who have fallen in battle.
'I want to thank those veterans,' he said, standing near a combined honor guard of American Legion, Amvets and Catholic War Veterans members. 'If it wasn't for their efforts, we wouldn't be standing here in free assembly.'
Less than a block away, Burke practiced law with his father, attorney Stanley Burke.
George Matalavage, commander of American Legion Post 677, noted that the 48th Regiment was composed of Schuylkill County residents. Included were soldiers from New Philadelphia, Silver Creek, Valley Furnace and Middleport.
The American Heritage Girls march in a Memorial Day parade in Cressona, Monday, May 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
In a separate service, a flowering plum tree was dedicated to Lt. Col. Eddie Doyle on the grounds of Simon Kramer Cancer Institute, New Philadelphia.
Doyle, a member of the Pottsville Maroons 1925 NFL Champions, led a detachment of the 168th Infantry during combat in Algiers, North Africa, where he died in combat on Nov. 8, 1942.
Dr. David J. Moylan, the institute's medical director, organized the tree planting in Doyle's honor.
Msgr. Edward B. Connelly imparted a blessing on the tree, planted near the former Blythe Twp. High School football stadium.
Doyle, who attended West Point, is reported to have been one of the first American casualties in the North African Campaign.
His name is included in a wartime heroes display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Pottsville Republican-Herald Staff Writer Ron Devlin contributed to this report.