By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com
Something special happens in Iuka, Kansas every Memorial Day. A small Methodist church on Main Street becomes packed to the gills with local residents and people from across Pratt County, as well as some from afar.
They come to hear a passionate presentation of the Gettysburg Address. They come to listen for familiar names as the deep, crisp voice of Larry Briggeman reads off the 187 names of military servicemen with local connections who died during wars ranging from the Spanish-American War and the Civil War to more recent Gulf War conflicts. They come to feel the vibrations of the bass drum that booms out after every name is read twice, a final roll call, a time to remember. They come to sing “God Bless America” and join the special choir in “America the Beautiful.” They listen to a heartfelt message about the valor of those who gave their all in wartime combat and to think about the future made possible by the sacrifice. They hear the somber words of “Sleep Soldier Boy,” sang by Jason Reed of the Memorial Day Choir. And then spirits are lifted by the flag carriers and the flower girls who then lead a procession out to the Iuka Cemetery where the program continues.
At the cemetery, local Boy Scouts raise the flag, the Patriot Riders of the American Legion rumble in during the singing the national anthem, and the flower girls place their bouquets at the base of the war memorial markers.
A quartet sings “They’ll Never March Again,” and taps played on trumpet by Mark Graber mark the passage of another year of remembrance and honor.
And then there is visiting, this year followed by more visiting at an Iuka Fire Department picnic nearby.
“The day was great; everyone stepped up and took on their roles with enthusiasm and respect,” said program coordinator Marjorie Buck.
At this year’s 140th Memorial Day program, more than 200 attenders met at the church and at least that many also showed up at the cemetery. More than 170 enjoyed the pulled pork picnic at the fire station.
It’s just a special event that many won’t miss. Considering that statistics show that only 1 in 10 Americans still have close family connections to someone who died in a war, it is possible that number is higher in Iuka. The 187 names read have familiar sounds like Briggeman, Helsel, Taylor, Adams, Conkel, Baker, and more. Visit the Iuka Cemetery this week yet to see the many flags flying in honor on cemetery markers.
