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South Hills events convey thanks to veterans

By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 3 min read
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Bob Malley of South Hills Pittsburgh Detachment 726 of the Marine Corps League Inc. is part of the color guard that participated in the ceremony at the Mt. Lebanon Veterans Memorial on Sunday. The following day, members took part in the Upper St. Clair observance.

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Ched Mertz welcomes guests to the Veterans Day observance at Upper St. Clair Veterans Park. Also pictured are Jean McGarvey, whose late husband, T.J., was instrumental in the building of the park, and the Rev. Ronald Weryha of Faith Lutheran Church, who gave the invocation and benediction for the event.

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Everitt Meer speaks about the history of Armistice Day and Veterans Day.

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Harry Funk / The Almanac

Veterans Elizabeth and John Pagano get ready for breakfast at Independence Middle School.

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Mt. Lebanon Commissioner Kelly Fraasch speaks during the ceremony.

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Joe Turba holds the U.S. flag during the Pledge of Allegiance at the Mt. Lebanon observance.

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Members of Mt. Lebanon High School’s Triple Trio choir sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

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The Rev. Noah Evans, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church rector, gives the invocation.

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Harry Schreiber holds the U.S. Marine Corps flag during the Mt. Lebanon observance.

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U.S. Air Force veterans Paul Webster, left, and John Frazier were among those in attendance at the Independence Middle School breakfast.

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Bethel Park High School freshmen Grant Calhoun, left, and Tommy Yanovich attended the breakfast at Independence Middle School as U.S. Naval Sea Cadets. The Sea Cadet Corps is a Navy-based organization that serves to teach individuals about the seagoing military services, Naval operations and training, community service, citizenship, and an understanding of discipline and teamwork.

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Members of the Upper St. Clair High School marching band perform during Monday's observance.

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Members of the Upper St. Clair High School marching band perform during Monday's observance.

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Harry Funk / The Almanac

Joe Spinnenweber, left, and Dave Luikart, members of South Hills Pittsburgh Detachment 726 of the Marine Corps League Inc., stand at attention in Upper St. Clair.

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Jeff Leonhardt, a retired Streams Elementary School music teacher, accompanies the fourth-graders who sang at the Upper St. Clair observance.

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Fourth-graders sing during Upper St. Clair's observance.

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Members of the Chanteclairs choral group at Upper St. Clair High School perform at Monday's observance.

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Members of the Chanteclairs choral group at Upper St. Clair High School perform at Monday's observance.

The end of World War I brought with it some thought that such a titanic struggle with so many millions of deaths would not be repeated.

Despite a conflict-fraught century since, a certain sense of optimism persists.

Harry Funk / The Almanac

Harry Funk / The Almanac

Matt Hornak plays “Taps” to wrap up the Upper St. Clair ceremony.

“Today, we gather to honor all of those who have served our country and with the hope for a future that has no war and only peace within it,” Mt. Lebanon Commissioner Kelly Fraasch said Nov. 11 in opening the municipality’s Veterans Day commemoration at the veterans’ memorial in Mt. Lebanon Park.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Devlin Robinson echoed those sentiments as the featured speaker at Upper St. Clair’s observance the following day.

“We are hopeful that a better world shall emerge from the ashes of blood and carnage of the past, a world devoted to dignity of life and the deliverance of our Creator’s most precious gift, of liberty, tolerance, equality and justice.”

Whatever the future holds, the younger people who gathered at various events for Veterans Day can take with them a strong sense of what the men and women who served and continue to serve the nation mean to the history of the United States.

Harry Funk / The Almanac

U.S. Navy veteran Babcock gets ready to enjoy breakfast at Independence Middle School. He and the late T.J. McGarvey, who served in the Marine Corps, were instrumental in the construction of the Upper St. Clair Veterans Park.

“I always tell my students, ‘What you’re going to learn today, you will not find in a textbook,” Independence Middle School social studies teacher Jennifer Makel said. “You are hearing live, real history, and you will see the emotions go across the veterans’ faces on how it affected them.”

The Bethel Park school hosted its annual pancakes-and-sausage breakfast for veterans on Nov. 12, an event for which students start preparing each spring.

“For the veterans, I find that it’s important to them because they feel forgotten, and this is a way for them to see that we still care and appreciate everything you did,” Makel said. “I love to see the look on the veterans’ faces when the children sit down to ask them questions.”

The Upper St. Clair observance was the eighth at the township’s Veterans Park since its dedication on Nov. 11, 2011.

“The main reason that we built this park, in terms of honoring our veterans, is because these generations that are now growing up, they need to understand that we all stand on the shoulders of the men and women who sacrificed, sometimes everything, for us,” said Ched Mertz, a former township commissioner who has been instrumental in the park’s development.

“Our country wants every new generation to understand that the service and sacrifice of the veterans should never be forgotten.”

Mt. Lebanon resident Everitt Meer, who is serving as state president of the Pennsylvania Children of the American Revolution – following in the footsteps of his sister, Morgan – spoke at the ceremony in his municipality.

Harry Funk / The Almanac

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Devlin Robinson served as the featured speaker in Upper St. Clair.

“To all the veterans who are attending today, we thank them for their service. Make sure to show a veteran your appreciation for what they’ve done,” he said. “A short message showing your gratitude goes a long way.”

In Upper St. Clair, Robinson augmented that message.

“Today, as a hundred years ago, we have heroes returning home to the new struggle of assimilation. As these brave men and women took the oath to deliver us our freedom, we must take the oath to ensure their sacrifices do not dissipate in vain,” he said. “We must pledge to help the veteran, by visiting a VA hospital patient, donations to veterans’ charities and hire our nation’s veterans.”

More Information

Go online to www.thealmanac.net for more photos of the Veterans’ Day services in the South Hills.

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