Shelley Hanson COLOR GUARD – The color guard presents the flags during the Memorial Day service at American Legion Post 1 in Wheeling on Monday.

WHEELING — American Legion Post 1, veterans and families remembered and honored service members who died while serving the country during a Memorial Day service Monday.

Dozens attended the ceremony, which was held at the post’s new home in Elm Grove this year instead of Wheeling Heritage Port.

Commander Thomas Abell served as master of ceremonies. Thomas Rentfrow gave the invocation, while Charles Lee led the Pledge of Allegiance. Charles Clark III recited information about the POW/MIA table, and Melissa Stegman provided information about the military child’s table. Michelle Powell recited the poem “In Flanders Field” and shared its history.

Videos set to music were played, including Trace Adkins’ “Arlington” and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”

The poem “Old Glory” by Van Morris also was featured in a video presentation. The colors were presented by the color guard.

This year’s guest speaker was Wheeling resident Jim Temple, a retired major and lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army.

“On this Memorial Day we gather not for celebration alone but for remembrance,” he said. “We gather as Americans, as families, as veterans and as citizens who understand that freedom has never been free.

“It has always been purchased at a cost far greater than most people will ever comprehend. Today we honor the men and women who never came home.”

Temple said Memorial Day is personal for veterans and their families.

“It’s not simply a long weekend, a cookout or an unofficial start to summer,” he said. “It is the memory of empty seats at reunions. Folded flags handed to grieving families. And phone calls that have changed lives forever.”

Temple noted fewer people today understand the importance of the military and the sacrifices made by service members.

“For many, war has become something distant. Something viewed through screens, headlines, history books, rather than a lived experience,” he said.

Temple said that distance matters because people can lose appreciation for what was sacrificed to preserve their freedoms.

“The freedoms we enjoy today … were defended by ordinary Americans who chose extraordinary service,” he said. “Some were barely older than teenagers. They did not serve for recognition. Most did not ask for praise. They served because they believed there were things bigger than themselves: duty, honor, family, country and the promise of America itself.”

Temple said children should be taught about freedom and military service.

“They need to be reminded that liberty survives only when good people are willing to defend it,” he said.

Temple also addressed the Gold Star families in attendance.

“No words can ever fully heal your loss. But know this — your loved ones matter,” he said.