Don Pratt reported for duty as he always does every Memorial Day as a member of the Honor Guard for American Legion Post 170 in Chesterton.
Pratt’s job is to hold the American flag upright.
He has made one concession in that he brings a chair with him nowadays. After all, he is 92 years old.
This was the 46th year in a row he has come to the Chesterton Cemetery, where the Legion holds its annual Memorial Day event.
American Legion Commander Daryl Peterson pointed out how Pratt was faithfully there again to the 100 people who gathered around the flagpole Monday morning under brilliant sunny, blue skies.
Pratt deflects the attention away from himself. The Chesterton native served in the Army during the 1950s and says he was “too young for Korea and too old for Vietnam.”
Among the gravestones that stretch out at Chesterton Cemetery are those who served in or were casualties of American wars past.
Allan Alliss recently moved from Chesterton to Leesburg, Fla. Since he was in town, Alliss put on his Vietnam Veteran hat and made his way over to the Chesterton Cemetery.
“To honor those who served, who gave everything there was to give,” Alliss said in explaining why he was compelled to come.
Alliss served with the Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968. He worked in the office in the support of an air unit.
As he stood in Chesterton Cemetery, Alliss thought of the one pilot from his unit who didn’t return home.
“Not only on days like today, but throughout my life I’ve thought about him,” Alliss said.
Not far from where Alliss stood, George Kelchak, 98, of Chesterton was there in a wheelchair.
Kelchak wore a hat for the 88th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army with whom he proudly served in Yugoslavia during World War II.
“What brings me out is to celebrate Memorial Day. I look forward to it every year,” Kelchak said.
Tony Reales, 64, had his homemade walking stick with him when he attended the Memorial Day ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, which immediately preceded the event at the Chesterton Cemetery. On his walking stick are stones shaped as hearts, representing his wife and two daughters who are deceased.
Reales was in the U.S. Navy for 8 years and was on a ship in the Indian Ocean during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979.
“Memorial Day is very meaningful to me because it’s honoring those who literally gave all for our freedom,” Reales said.
Reales said he instructs people not to wish him a happy Memorial Day. “It’s not a celebration. It’s honoring those who gave all.”
Chesterton High School history teacher Bob DeRuntz, the keynote speaker, extemporaneously delivered an eloquent meditation on the importance of Memorial Day.
DeRuntz started with Abraham Lincoln and the dilemma he faced in deciding what to say with the Gettysburg Address in 1863.
“There was nothing he could say. What could he possibly say that could equal the sacrifice that those men had made?” DeRuntz said.
Lincoln flipped the script, in that he made the speech about how the people present, and in the nation, needed to dedicate themselves to finishing the war.
U.S. General John Logan in 1868 was the one who decreed that there would be Decoration Day – which became Memorial Day – to honor the war dead.
“We meet here still to this day, on this day to remember the sacrifice made for those who have given their lives in defense of our nation,” DeRuntz said.
DeRuntz then described the cemetery in Normandy, France, where thousands of American soldiers lost their lives during the D-Day invasion that turned the tide in the European Theater of World War II.
Then, DeRuntz painted a word picture of the scene at Arlington Cemetery, where he told of how the honor guard is constantly on duty at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The president of the United States on occasion has advised the honor guard during hurricanes and blizzards, the Unknown Soldier honor guard duty could be suspended.
“On each and every occasion, they (the honor guard) respond, with all due respect Mr. President, we will not stand down,” DeRuntz said.
“How we choose to honor those who have given their last full measure of devotion, in devotion to our nation, it matters.”
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
