West Township Memorial Day service honors veterans

About 200 people gathered May 25 at Moultrie Chapel on state Route 172 for the annual West Township Memorial Day service honoring veterans and remembering those who died in military service.

The program began with the VFW Post 4120 Honor Guard of Minerva presenting the Salute to Fallen Soldiers. Taps was played by Katie Reusser.

West Township Memorial Association Vice President Jeff Haynam led the outdoor service.

Following opening ceremonies, attendees participated in the longstanding tradition of marching through Moultrie Cemetery and placing cut flowers on veterans’ graves. Participants of all ages took part in the observance.

Iva Lowmiller, a fifth-grade student at Minerva Elementary School, recited the Gettysburg Address. Patriotic selections were performed by the Minerva Area Community Band under the direction of Derrick Maxey.

The featured speaker was Ken Bandy, who invited attendees into Moultrie Chapel for the indoor portion of the program. Bandy portrayed a Civil War-era character while telling the story of Benton Speakman, a soldier in Company B of the 65th Ohio Infantry who was killed during the Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Using letters Speakman wrote to his mother and other historical documents, Bandy recounted the young soldier’s experiences during the Civil War.

Speakman had been a farmhand on the nearby Wooley Farm in Lynchburg before enlisting in the Union Army at age 20. He later gave what Bandy described as the ultimate sacrifice in service to his country.

Speakman is buried at Moultrie Cemetery.

Songs from the Civil War era were performed by Megan Lynn as part of the indoor program.

West Township Memorial Association President Shirley Whiteleather Fox also recognized veterans in attendance.

Fox noted this marked the first Memorial Day service without any World War II veterans present.

She remembered Harriet Miller Jones and Bill Pilati, longtime attendees of the annual service who both died in January. Jones was 104 and Pilati was 100.

The service concluded with Joseph Ellis leading attendees in patriotic songs.

The West Township Memorial Association organizes the annual Memorial Day service and has worked since 2015 as a tax-exempt organization dedicated to preserving Moultrie Chapel and restoring historic cemeteries throughout the township.

In addition to ongoing restoration work at Moultrie Cemetery, the association works with West Township trustees on preservation efforts at New Alexander, The Plains, Chambersburg, Quaker Ridge and Moultrie cemeteries.

Organizers said the restoration work helps preserve local history while honoring the veterans and residents buried throughout the township.