A cold wind kicked in as sunset neared Sunday at Veterans Memorial Park, bringing to close a day of commemoration for World War I's end a century ago, on Nov. 11, 1918. It had been nearly a year and a half ago, during April of 2017, when the commemorative flag marking declaration of war had first been raised in the park.
Although Veterans Day, known originally as Armistice Day, is generally observed as a day to honor living veterans and Memorial Day, set aside to remember our war dead, the emphasis on Sunday shifted as the day progressed to those lost in the war.
A 48-star U.S. flag and the World War I commemorative flag were raised in the park first thing in the morning, then at 11 a.m., bells were rung in the park and elsewhere in Chariton to celebrate the official end of the war.
My program in the Legion Club Room at 2 p.m. focused on the 26 men who died, including Carl L. Caviness, killed by a German sniper in France on May 30, 1918, after whom Chariton's American Legion post is named.
Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs official statistics set 114,242 as the number of Iowans who served in World War I, 3,576 as the number who died.
As the day ended on Sunday, Melody Allen and Roger Blunk, representing county Legionnaires, read the names of those 26 men, each name punctuated by the ringing of a bell.
The Rev. Fred Steinbach, of St. Andrew's Church, offered the closing prayer and Adam Bahr ended the day with "Taps."
Chariton Hy-Vee will continue the Veterans Day observance this morning with a free breakfast for veterans and active duty personnel from 6 until 11 a.m. in the Court Avenue store.
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