Palo Alto residents were told to do more than just pause for a day to reflect on the soldiers who gave their lives in defense of the nation. Instead of just limiting this remembrance to a single day, retired US Army Sgt. Maj. Craig Rothermel said Sunday.
Rothermel spoke at Palo Alto’s Memorial Day service held Sunday afternoon in front of the war memorial wall, which honors borough residents who served. The ceremony was one of the first of many held across Schuylkill County over the weekend.
Rothermel is a 1980 graduate of Minersville Area High School. From graduation, he enlisted in the US Army, serving until 2004 on assignments with the 75th Ranger regiment in Fort Benning, GA; the 82nd Airborne division and 7th Special Forces group out of Fort Bragg, NC.
Until 2010, Rothermel worked with the US State Dept. as a high-threat security specialist with assignments in Baghdad, Kabul, and Tel Aviv.
“The respect and admiration we give our fallen, pay tribute to their memory and the lives they lived … we do so by visiting their grave sites, placing flags, wreaths, and other mementos in memorials in our community,” Rothermel said. “But their final resting place should not be the only space we gather, share memories, or sit in quiet contemplation. We must share their stories with others and ensure their memories.”
Rothermel also paid special tribute to those who served during World War II and to female service members during his address in Palo Alto.
To honor those and all those soldiers, living and passed, Rothermel advised, “It is up to us to use the gifts secured by those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Do as much good as possible and honor a debt that can never be repaid. On Memorial Day, we reflect and share the experience of our fallen loved ones. But tomorrow and the days that follow, we must act.”
During Sunday’s ceremony, council president Brian Dries read the names of 18 Palo Alto veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice. After each name was read, council vice president Vincent Riotto rang a bell.
Eighteen flags were also placed around the memorial to honor those soldiers’ sacrifice. They include:
- World War I: Webster Donnie, John Kennedy, Guy Mortimer
- World War II: Harold Brigade, Robert T. Colan, Lawrence W. Eich, Alvin E. Gober, Joseph Parry, Louis D. Piacine, Richard L. Reiley, Harry W. Thomas, Blair Thoerner, Albert Villella, Charles Zalonka, Henry Zerby
- Korean War: John J. Eagan Jr., Robert J. Hardy, Victor M. Kocher Jr.
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