Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Memorial Day brings out many emotions in all those who celebrate its true meaning. There’s sorrow for the loved ones we have lost, but there’s also pride for the dedicated men and women who served this country in the Armed Forces – and there’s joy.
Joy in sharing the fond memories of family members and friends who are no longer with us. Joy in raising our voices in song to honor the country we live in and the men and women who fought for our freedoms.
That joy was felt in abundance at the annual Memorial Day Service at Arbovale United Methodist Church and Arbovale Cemetery Sunday.
“We are here to talk with our friends and our neighbors and share the stories and keep the memories alive of those individuals that were so close to many of us,” Arbovale Cemetery Association president Bob Sheets said. “We’re certainly happy to have all you folks here today. I know many of you are dealing with the recent grief of those that have been lost. I hope we can offer you some sort of solace and comfort by sharing this service, this music and this place with you.”
Sheets recalled his history with the cemetery and the way things were when he was a young boy growing up in Green Bank.
“I used to come with my grandmother to the cemetery, and she would trim the hedge over there with hedge clippers – without batteries,” he said. “I would play among the stones. My father was also president of this organization and, when he was president, he talked me into digging graves. There was no backhoe present. That was a learning experience and a great impetus to go to college.”
In introducing the guest speaker for the ceremony, Sheets spoke about the many hats Rev. David Rittenhouse has worn in his 60 years as a Pocahontas countian. He has been a farmer, bus driver and teacher. But, of course, he is most known for his service as a reverend who has served the communities of Pocahontas County in countless ways.
“He has probably officiated at more funerals in this county than anyone else,” Sheets said. “He does baptisms and weddings, but when his name was mentioned in association with this service, I thought about all those services I witnessed and I thought, ‘this is who we need.’
“His response still echoes with me – ‘Bob, I’d be honored to do that; you know when I first came here, we were burying World War I veterans,’” he added.
Rittenhouse began by recognizing the Arbovale Cemetery Association for its dedication to maintaining the cemetery and the Pocahontas County Veterans Honor Corps for performing military rights at funerals throughout the county, in every possible kind of weather.
“Like Bob said, when the World War I veterans were being buried, there wasn’t any special service for them,” he said. “The Honor Corps has done a wonderful job in recognizing veterans, and I think that we certainly today give thanks for them.”
Much has changed in the past 60 years, Rittenhouse said, recalling that when he first moved to the county, grave preparation and funerals were very different.
“It used to be that everybody, almost, was brought home for their last visitation, and we had to take caskets through windows that couldn’t get through the doors, but you would come home and the neighbors and friends would come and sit up with you,” he said.
“You didn’t use machinery on the grave,” he continued. “It had to be dug by hand and filled by hand. It was a time when neighbors would get together and do that job. Talking about the World War I veterans, I remember a man named Talvin Varner whose brother died and somehow he ended up digging the grave, working on it by himself and I found out. Gary Arbogast had just gotten back from Vietnam and Gary and I went and helped him dig the grave.”
He added that there were times when the undertaker and preacher were left to fill the grave after the ceremony.
While the arduous task of digging a grave and filling it by hand was the way for many years, Rittenhouse remembers the first grave where machinery was necessary.
It had rained, then froze and then snowed 18 inches. The grave was dug without a problem, but when it came time to fill in the grave, the soil was solid.
“I think the first time I remember using machinery on a grave, Frank Bennett got killed in a logging accident,” he said. “Some of you probably remember that. We had to use a bulldozer to get the casket up to John’s Run in that cemetery. There we were, a few people, casket in the grave and the ground frozen. We couldn’t touch it.
“We didn’t know what to do,” he continued. “I looked at them and I said, ‘you know, if Frank was the one that was here and I was the one in the casket, I know what he would do.’ So, somebody got on the dozer and just pushed the whole thing over and they went back to level it off when things thawed out.”
In speaking about funerals and honoring those who have passed, Rittenhouse said it is important to keep their memories alive.
“Cherish your memories, and we’ll be doing that here today,” he said. “With those memories, we remember, but we have hope.”
As part of the celebration, the Arbovale Cemetery Association honors the memory of those who were interred at the cemetery since the last Memorial Day. Suzanne Stewart read the names of those individuals and family members or friends were welcomed to add a flower to two baskets for their loved ones.
Those baskets were taken to the cemetery and placed at the base of the flagpole.
At the cemetery, the Pocahontas County Veterans Honor Corps stood at attention as commander Rick Wooddell shared this year’s Memorial Day address.
He spoke of the history of Memorial Day and its origin as Decoration Day.
“The alternative name, ‘Memorial Day,’ wasn’t commonly used until World War II, a two-front fight against world tyranny in which more than 400,000 American service members would die,” Wooddell said. “Among those heroes were men singled out by President Ronald Reagan, as he stood at an outdoor lectern forty years ago in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1984. Quote, ‘Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs,’ President Regan said. ‘And before me are the men who put them there. These are the boys of Pointe duHoc. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.’ Unquote.
“Many of the men rest in graves at the Normandy American Cemetery,” Wooddell continued. “Others found peace at Arlington or in their hometown burials places. And many more survived the war and raised their families under the peace and freedom that they and their brothers and sisters-in-arms fought so hard to achieve. In The American Legion Preamble, we pledge to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars. We do this not to pat ourselves on the back or impress people with stories of our own military service. We know what we did.”
Being the witnesses of those memories is an honor for fellow veterans and the speech reflected that in mentioning two World War II veterans who both passed away at the age of 102.
“We are also witnesses to veterans who have seen heroism in its purest form,” Wooddell said. “Veterans who served alongside the very men and women that we remember here today. One such witness was Lou Conter. On April 1 of this year, Lou passed away at age 102. He was the last survivor of the bombing of the battleship USS Arizona.
“During Pearl Harbor observances in 2020, Lou said to The American Legion, quote, ‘We are not the heroes. The 1,177 sailors who went down with the ship are the heroes. You must remember that we had the chance to come home, get married, have children and grandchildren, and we’ve lived a good life. Those who didn’t get to do that should be called the heroes,’ unquote.
Lou’s sentiment was undoubtedly influenced by his own humility for he did serve heroically throughout his 26-year Navy career. But his larger point must also be remembered.”
The second veteran mentioned in the speech passed away just last week. General Bud Anderson was the last living WWII ace.
“Which leads us to the events of 80 years ago this spring – in advance of D-Day, 8th Air Force Bombers experienced over 16,000 dead and 10,000 casualties in a five-month period during constant bombing raids over Europe in preparing the battlefield for the Allied invasion,” Wooddell said. “This generation showed the embodiment of sacrifice.
“Today, we are able to raise our families, continue careers and live good lives because of the sacrifices made by the thousands of young men and women who never had the chance to come home,” he continued. “We must always remember them. May they all rest in peace.”
The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps.
