SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Harold J. Kissinger’s six months in Vietnam left a lifetime void for those who loved him.
On Monday, Kissinger’s sister, Verna Dewald, wept, remembering her 21-year-old brother during a Memorial Day service at the Schuylkill County Vietnam Memorial.
“Every year, I say I’m not going to cry, but I still do,” Dewald, Schuylkill Haven, said. Her brother served in Vietnam in 1968 as a Specialist 4 in the Army, and died a half a year later after arriving on foreign soil to defend our nation. He’s buried in Pottsville’s Mount Laurel Cemetery.
For Dewald, Monday’s service brought together cousins and family members from as far away as Michigan, Ohio and Connecticut to remember her brother, and his fellow service men and women.
“I’ve got a 92-year-old aunt that came in from Michigan. They do a good job here,” she said of the service, which includes a special tribute to Gold Star Mother families — those who lost sons or daughters in war.
“You have such respect for our veterans,” Kissinger’s cousin, Lynn Kramer, Michigan, said at the conclusion of Monday’s ceremony.
Organized by the Veterans of the Vietnam War Post 29, the annual Memorial Day program commemorates the lives of those lost in Vietnam and is held at the memorial on Route 61 near Penn State Schuylkill.
Guy Wiederhold, of Post 29, served as master of ceremonies.
He noted that next year will mark the 20th anniversary for the memorial, and organizers are planning “a few things.”
Wiederhold praised the area’s youth for their interest and continued support on behalf of veterans.
Several youth groups were part of the service, including Boy Scout Troop 621. The scouts assisted the Gold Star Mother family members with the laying of a wreath at the memorial.
Four members of the Schuylkill Haven Area High School Veterans Committee and recent graduates — Meagan Dasch, Cera Blunk, Amanda Johns and Ben Hower — delivered patriotic addresses. Their teacher and adviser, Janie Ulsh, introduced each student. Ulsh’s brother, Thomas McGoey, is also a Vietnam veteran, she said. Dasch’s 19-year-old brother, Nathaniel Dasch, is currently serving in the Army in Afghanistan. Hower is the third brother in his family to serve as president of the committee.
Ulsh said some of the activities the committee supports are Veterans Day assemblies, Hall of Honor, sending Christmas cards to service members and Wreaths Across America.
“They’re a great group of young men and women, who truly, truly care about veterans,” Wiederhold said.
Vocalist Sarah Kramer, 13, offered several musical selections, including the song, “Traveling Soldier.”
“I went with ‘Traveling Soldier,’ because it’s about a Vietnam War veteran, and I figured it would fit in well with the program,” she said, “and, it’s something I haven’t sung here before.”
Kramer sang at the veterans’ service in Schuylkill Haven three times before, she said.
She’s the daughter of Joy and Randy Kramer, Hamburg.
Vocalists Diane Roeder, Schuylkill Haven, and Janet I. Enders, Pottsville, also presented patriot tunes. Enders’ song, “Thank You Is Not Enough,” was one she wrote and produced, while considering the military service of her nephew, Nathan Saunders, from White Pigeon, Michigan, and others like him. Saunders served in Afghanistan and returned home, but lost several comrades, Enders said.
To conclude the program, Kramer played her guitar while singing, “God Bless The U.S.A.” Audience members, veterans and family members sang along and joined hands, raising their arms high in unison.