Rain, change of venue don’t deter Charles City Memorial Day service

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

An intermittent rain that would later turn to more serious weather conditions forced the Charles City Memorial Day observance from its usual spot at the Veterans Memorial at the Floyd County Courthouse, to the Veterans of Foreign Wars clubhouse.

Lt. Col. Todd Prichard, U.S. Army Reserves, welcomed a large gathering and acted as master of ceremonies for the event which included an invocation and benediction by Patty Kellogg, presentation of the Colors by the Charles City Boy Scout troops, laying of the wreath by the American Legion Auxiliary, “The Pledge of Allegiance” led by junior members of the Auxiliary, a proclamation by Mayor Dean Andrews, Justin Heyer reading “The Gettysburg Address,” taps and echo, Nathan Schultz singing the National Anthem, and firing of three rounds by the ceremonial unit.

Prichard noted that, “Throughout our nation’s history, Iowans have always answered the call to duty for our country. During the Civil War, Iowa sent over 76,000 soldiers to battle, which was more than any other state. Over 500,000 Iowans registered for the draft in World War I, and about 115,000 actually served in World War I from Iowa.

“During World War II, over 276,000 Iowans went into military service and we lost over 8,300 of those Iowans,” he said.

“In the last decade Iowans again stepped up when about 3,000 Iowa National Guard soldiers were called to active duty. It was the largest deployment since World War II.”