Pastor David Raemish with St. Matthew Lutheran Church offered the closing prayer at the Memorial Day service in Monticello.
Retired U.S. Army veteran Steve Rucker of Monticello was the guest speaker at the May 29 Memorial Day service in Monticello. Rucker expressed how cemeteries show the extent of a community’s sacrifice in time of war. “They are a manifest of a community’s patriotism,” he said. Rucker has walked Oakwood Cemetery time and again, and has researched the heroic lives of the service men and women who were laid to rest here from every branch of the service. “This is hallowed ground,” he said.
Members of the Monticello High School Band performed several patriotic songs during the Memorial Day service at Oakwood Cemetery. From left are Michael Lang, Tom Dirks, Jordan Lorenzen, and Cleo Sullivan.
Members of the Monticello Drill Team and American Legion march during the May 29 Monticello Memorial Day parade. The parade began at the middle school and ended on Oak Street at Oakwood Cemetery. (Photos by Kim Brooks)