Buckhannon mayor Robbie Skinner joined the Upshur County Honor Guard and other community leaders Monday at Heavner Cemetery for a Memorial Day service honoring those who died in military service.
The ceremony was led by Upshur County Honor Guard Commander Ed Smith and included members of VFW Post 3663 and American Legion Post 7. City recorder Randy Sanders, newly elected city council member Shawn Young and state senator Robbie Morris also attended, according to a press release from the city.
Skinner cautioned against treating the holiday as a casual milestone on the calendar.
“Memorial Day is not simply the unofficial start of summer. It is one of the most sacred days we observe as Americans,” Skinner said. “It is a day set aside to remember those who never made it home — the sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors who answered the call to serve, and in doing so, gave what President Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion.’”
The mayor said the weight of the day lands differently in a small community.
“In communities like ours, remembrance is personal,” he said. “The names etched on monuments, the flags placed beside graves, and the stories passed down through generations remind us that freedom has always come at a cost. Many of those we honor today once walked our streets, sat in our churches, attended our schools, and called this same community their home as we do every day.”
Skinner said the obligation to those who died is one Buckhannon can’t settle, only carry forward.
“We owe a debt we can never fully repay, but we can honor their memory by living lives worthy of their sacrifice — by loving our country, serving our neighbors, and never taking our freedoms for granted,” he said.
He closed by asking those gathered to keep the day’s purpose in view as they leave the cemetery.
“So today, may we not only remember the fallen, but may we also carry forward their legacy with gratitude and purpose,” Skinner said.
