Two services mark Memorial Day in Wellsburg
SERVICE REMEMBERED — John Cox of the Ohio Valley Veterans Memorial Squad presented the U.S. flag at the start of a Memorial Day service held by the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation at The Foundery Church in Wellsburg. The group continued its tradition of honoring families with multiple immediate members in the military with the recognition of the Sisinnis and the Wallaces. -- Warren Scott
LENDING THEIR VOICES — Members of the Brooke High School Choir performed for a Memorial Day service at Wellsburg’s Central Park, where 72 large U.S. flags were displayed through the efforts of the Wellsburg Lions Club. -- Warren Scott
SERVICE REMEMBERED — John Cox of the Ohio Valley Veterans Memorial Squad presented the U.S. flag at the start of a Memorial Day service held by the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation at The Foundery Church in Wellsburg. The group continued its tradition of honoring families with multiple immediate members in the military with the recognition of the Sisinnis and the Wallaces. -- Warren Scott
LENDING THEIR VOICES — Members of the Brooke High School Choir performed for a Memorial Day service at Wellsburg’s Central Park, where 72 large U.S. flags were displayed through the efforts of the Wellsburg Lions Club. -- Warren Scott
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WELLSBURG -- Local residents and others who have served their nation and community were recognized in different ways at two Memorial Day services held in Wellsburg.
The Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation continued its tradition of recognizing local families with multiple immediate members in the military with a service at The Foundery church, while a thick patch of U.S. flags at Central Park inspired a discussion of patriotism at a service held by the Wellsburg Lions Club.
Donna Taibi Sullivan, one of several leaders of the foundation behind Monday's service, noted the holiday serves as a reminder of the many veterans who have lost their lives for their country.
Fellow foundation member Katy O'Connell shared a famous, anonymous quote: "A veteran is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America, for an amount up to and including their life."
Sullivan noted the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park, located by the paddle boat pond at Brooke Hills Park, pays tribute to more than 150 local veterans of conflicts ranging from World War I to military operations in the Middle East.
She said the group also has been fortunate, through recognition of military families at Memorial Day and Veterans Day, to also honor local service members who were able to return home.
This year's families, which included several veterans who have since died, were the Sisinnis of Follansbee and the Wallaces of Wellsburg.
The Sisinnis included the late John Frank Sisinni, a Coast Guard member serving aboard a Naval vessel transporting 3,800 troops during World War II. Sullivan said Sisinni served in Manila, New Guinea and the Panama Canal and spoke of manning a gun aboard his ship, which sustained horrible storms during its missions.
His brother, Ross, served in the Army in Korea and was discharged as Specialist 3/Corporal while another brother, Frank James Jr., also served in the Army.
The Wallaces include Frank Garey Wallace, who came from Florida to attend the service. A Navy petty officer second class, he served about an assault craft unit during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Also recognized was his late father, John Samuel Wallace, who served in the Army during World War I; and six other sons: John Thomas Wallace, an Air Force World War II veteran; Robert Benson Wallace, who served the Army in Korea and Vietnam; Warren Alexander Wallace, who served the Army in Korea; Richard Lee Wallace, an Army veteran whose unit received two presidential citations "for extraordinary heroism" for service in Korea; and James Carlyle Wallace, who served in the Army and Navy; and Roger Charles Wallace, who served in the Army's 2nd Armored Division in Vietnam.
Sullivan said another brother, George, attempted to enlist but was declared ineligible because he had flat feet.
Noting that many of the veterans didn't share specific information about their service, Sullivan researched their backgrounds sometimes with the help of Jim Brockman, executive director of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Museum and Education Center.
She noted plaques bearing the families' names will be displayed at the museum, which is within the Brooke County Public Library.
Also participating in the service were the Rev. Nancy Strope of Community of Christ Church, the Tri-State Young Marines, the Ohio Valley Veterans Memorial Squad and members of the Brooke High School Choir and their director, Isaac Cardot.
The two latter groups also were on hand for the service at Central Park, where the Wellsburg Lions Club displayed 72 U.S. flags, each 3 foot by 5 foot and flown from a 10 foot pole.
Each was sponsored by an individual or group, and the club is seeking sponsors for 28 others, which would bring their number to 100.
Wellsburg Lion Joe Mullenbach, who is chairing the effort, said the flags will be displayed during services at the park marking Independence Day, the anniversary of Sept. 9, 2011, Veterans Day and next Memorial Day.
Information about sponsoring the flags may be obtained by visiting the Lions Club of Wellsburg Facebook page or calling (304) 737-3750.
Richard Ferguson, the group's president, reflected on the origin of the U.S. flag and its symbol of national pride and the ideals America aspires to.
"The flag has been blamed for a lot of things. It's been spit on and burned, but it's still there," he said.