Memorial Day Event Held in Schulenburg

Veterans organizations in Schulenburg conducted their annual Memorial Day Service in Wolters Park on Monday, May 30.

Bob Heinrich, Commander of American Legion McBride Post 143 in Schulenburg, led the ceremonies.

“Memorial Day is not a happy day for veterans and their families,” Heinrich said. “While it does not mean you can’t go out and enjoy the day, it does mean that during this day one should reflect on the sacrifices and express appreciation for those no longer with us.”

Heinrich took over for James Brossmann, who emceed the ceremony for many years before he died in an accident last year.

“It is with a sad heart that I have to step into this position this year,” Heinrich said at the start of the ceremony. “James and I had a pact: we would not let our veterans’ presence in this community fade as long as one of us is still alive.”

Heinrich introduced Pat Lyons, who served as an Army Ranger in the Vietnam War. Lyons recounted a harrowing story from a battle in May of 1967 in which he was wounded. Lyons described directing gunships and medevac helicopters to his team’s location via radio while taking machine gun fire. A teammate died right next to him. Lyons picked up the dead man’s rifle and kept attacking the enemy while wounded in the leg and back and struggling to remain conscious. Eventually, his American comrades rescued him from the jungle.

“While all that’s going on, you don’t really think about it,” Lyons said.

Lyons returned home after his service and enrolled in Penn State University. He recalled visiting the veterans’ center on campus, where he was warned about hostility toward servicemen returning from Vietnam.

“Keep your head down and shuffle on,” he said. “I did that for 40 years.”

Then a few years ago, Lyons said he reconnected with some of his teammates from Vietnam.

“You’re alive?” he recalled one of them asking him, thinking Lyons had died in that battle 40 years before.

The moving speech earned a standing ovation from the crowd in Schulenburg. After, Ed Selmer of the local American Legion post read the names of 57 Schulenburg men who died while serving since World War 1.

Heinrich said the local veterans groups put out over 1,100 American flags on the graves of Schulenburg-area veterans. Those groups included the American Legion McBride Post, VFW Post 5623, Vietnam Veteran of America Chapter 870, along with auxiliary organizations.