Killbuck exemplifies small-town spirit of serving
Memorial Day services in Killbuck conveyed how much this day means to veterans and to the community. Killbuck Cemetery is full of the grave sites of the veterans who served their country.
Killbuck Cemetery is rife with small flags, flags that signify the many citizens who gave their all in serving their country.
On Monday, May 26, the community gathered together on Memorial Day to honor those who decided to put service above all else, some of them never to return.
The event in Killbuck began with an emotional service on the bridge traversing the Killbuck Creek, where the U.S. Navy was honored by the tossing of a bouquet of flowers into the water. That was followed by a parade through the village, led by Killbuck VFW Post 7079 members, followed by the WHHS marching band and a variety of other participants.
Once the entourage reached the Killbuck Cemetery, Toni Shreve provided her rendition of the national anthem, accompanied by the West Holmes High School marching band.
After a prayer by Auxiliary Chaplain Kathy Russell, center stage was turned over to keynote speaker U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Watts, who spoke about what it means to serve one’s country faithfully.
Watts, a native of Killbuck and Glenmont growing up and a West Holmes High School graduate, has an extensive and accomplished service record. The Army commander enlisted in 1996, graduating from the Army’s Sergeant-Major Academy as a senior military police sergeant.
He eventually began a lengthy tour of overseas assignments including Operation Dessert Thunder in 1998, Operation Dessert Fox in 1998, Operation Dessert Falcon in 1999, Operation Enduring Freedom in 2005-06, Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008-09, Operation Enduring Freedom again in 2015-16, and Korean Service in 2021 and 2023.
Watts welcomed everyone in attendance and extended gratitude to the Village of Killbuck and VFW Post 7079 Honor Guard for hosting the event, along with everyone else who organized the event.
“What an honor and a privilege we have to gather here today, to honor and pay respect to those who have given so much,” Watts said.
He then spoke about the monument at the front of the cemetery placed to honor those who served, with Killbuck Cemetery serving as a final resting place for many veterans.
“Within this place a monument sits, erected in 1949,” Watts said. “That stone bears the words, ‘In honor of those who served and died that we might live.’ This speaks volumes about the love, the loss and enduring spirit of this community.”
He went on to say we all stand in their shadow, remembering the supreme sacrifices that were made to ensure freedom.
Watts said Memorial Day isn’t about parties and picnics, but rather paying honor and respect to the real heroes of the nation.
“Those who did not return are the real heroes,” Watts said. “We recognize there is no greater sacrifice than one who gives their life for another.”
He also spoke about the families who have born the weight of the loss of their loved ones who served and gave their lives, including mothers, fathers, spouses and children who continue to feel the absence of loved ones day after day.
“The story of American freedom is written in the blood of patriots,” Watts said. “From the battlefields of Lexington and Concord, where the first shots rang out in our quest for freedom, to the brutal winters of Valley Forge to build a new nation, they pledged their lives, their fortune and their sacred honor, and many made the ultimate sacrifice to secure the liberties we cherish today.”
He continued on through the Civil War, two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and more as soldiers bravely and selflessly went to bat for all citizens and the freedoms this nation has built.
“Each conflict demands a terrible price,” Watts said. “We remember those who gave everything. These conflicts remind us that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice.”
He said many members of the Killbuck community have answered the call to duty and to serve over the decades.
He then said John McCrae’s poem, “In Flander’s Field,” aptly sums up the challenge those who serve face on a daily basis.
He said in rural towns like Killbuck, people recognize the value in keeping their word, being true to one another and to country, and honoring commitments.
He spoke about how the poem speaks to upholding the values of community service and sacrifice, values that remain the heartbeat of rural America.
“Today, let us renew our commitment to those values,” Watts said. “Let us support our veterans, listen to their stories and ensure they receive the care and respect they deserve. And let us teach our children the sacrifices made for the sake of their freedom.”
He ended by praising the mothers who sent their sons to war, never to return, and said honor them as being worthy of the gift they gave as part of the fallen.