Memorial Day ceremonies and parades were celebrated with renewed spirit Monday by many community participants in Bellefontaine and in each of the villages across Logan County, following the cancellation of most observances last year due to restrictions with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shelley Kneece from the Logan County Veteran’s Service Office relates during her speech Monday at Bellefontaine Cemetery that the full meaning of Memorial Day is difficult to describe with words alone, but reflected on the personal stories of four soldiers with connections to Logan County who lost their lives during the War on Terror: Ridgemont High School graduate Sgt. Jeremy Hodge was the first county resident claimed in the war, one year after his deployment to Iraq. Staff Sgt. Dennis J. Hansen, an Indian Lake High School graduate, succumbed to his injuries after his unit was under attack in Afghanistan during 2009. Benjamin Logan High School graduate Gunnery Sgt. David S. Spicer also lost life during 2009 while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan. A Clark County service member, Lance Cpl. Kevin Scott Smith, whose mother is from Logan County, died in 2005 in Iraq. “Every day is Memorial Day for these families,” Kneece said. Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler also shared about several military service members from his family tree who served in conflicts that included the Revolutionary War, Civil War and Vietnam War. This year’s parade grand marshals, Vietnam War veteran honorees Fred Brackney and Jon Mikil Kilgore also were recognized during the ceremony. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)The Logan County Honor Guard’s rifle squad offers a 21-gun salute to conclude the ceremony in the Bellefontaine Cemetery Monday, accompanied by the playing of Taps by Bellefontaine High School band members. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)Sharon Ashcraft places a wreath Monday at Bellefontaine Cemetery during the Bellefontaine Memorial Day ceremony, one of a number of wreaths placed in honor of those U.S. service members who lost their lives during different conflicts. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)
