Honoring their comrades

By Editor | May 29, 2019 |

Numerous times each year, members of area veterans organizations combine to provide a final tribute to others who also served this country.

On Sunday, those veterans honored one of their own.
Members of local American Legion and VFW posts gathered on Sunday to give military rites for Robert Osborne Sr.
For 10 years, Osborne served as the sergeant-at-arms for Crawford-Hale American Legion Post 95 in Vandalia, with his duties including being in charge of honor guards for military services.
David Hejl, the current sergeant-at-arms for Post 95, said that the local honor guard provides military rites for veterans between 10 and 20 times each year.
“It’s kind of special that (veterans) can have this, and there’s no charge for it,” Hejl said.
“And we’ll go wherever they want us to,” he said.
“It’s by request,” George Meseke of Post 95 said, “but very rarely is a military veteran buried that we aren’t involved with.”
Helping to ensure that veterans’ families have that service available to them, Meseke said, is that “we have a good relationship with the funeral homes,” and they inform families about the honor guard.
While the honor guard was established by Crawford-Hale American Legion Post 95, in recent years, other participants in the honor guard include members of Brownstown VFW Post 9770.
On Monday, the honor guard members included Clarence Williams, who recently celebrated 101th birthday and has been a member of Post 95 since the mid-1940s.
For Osborne’s services, the honor guard had a full complement, which meant that it could provide the playing of “Taps” and sentry duty at the gravesite and well as a rifle salute.
That often is not the case, due to the fact that sometimes there are not enough veterans to serve. In those instances, the honor guard provides the rifle salute only.
Members of any area veterans organization can participate in the honor guard.
“We are always looking for veterans who are interested in being involved in this,” Post 95 member John Blythe said.
“What has impressed me,” Hejl said, “because I’m new to this, is seeing these sister organizations from different towns coming together to provide this service.
“It’s one of the very important things these veterans’ organizations do,” he said.

Local veterans from Crawford-Hale American Legion Post 95 of Vandalia and VFW Post 9770 stand at attention during the playing of ‘Taps’ at graveside services for Robert Osborne Sr. on Sunday at Fairlawn Cemetery in Vandalia