Veterans Day Ceremony to be held this Saturday in Mifflinburg
Nov. 5—MIFFLINBURG — The newly refurbished Union County World War II Honor Roll in Mifflinburg will be the location of a ceremony to honor veterans on Saturday.
The Union County Veterans Foundation will host the ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday at the memorial at Mifflinburg Community Park along North Fifth Street. Those attending will have a chance to see the results of the $16,000 renovation project that was completed in July.
"We're anxious to have a nice turnout to show off the monument a little bit," Doug Walter, of the Union County Veterans Foundation, said. "We have thanked people already with letters to the editor, but we will also do a thank you at the service for everyone who donated. We've been incredibly blessed and the community continues to support us."
The special guest speaker this year is Pennsylvania National Guard veteran Missy Weidensaul, a local agriculture teacher. The ceremony will also feature Gold Star Singers, the Shikellamy JROTC, the Union County 4-H Club, Rosie the Riveter, Children of the American Revolution and Girl/Cub/Boy Scouts leading the pledge.
Weidensaul will talk about her service in the National Guard and how it helped her reach her current career goals, Walter said.
"She's going to interject a certain amount of her faith too," Walter said. "She has a love for both country and God. She's going to be tying those two things together."
Earlier this year, a $16,000 project restored the bronze panels with 2,260 names of those who served in World War II, cleaned the sidewalks and professionally cleaned the memorial walkway bricks for the first time. The memorial has an additional four bronze panels that represent the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and the terrorist attack on the USS Cole on Oct. 12, 2000; six seals representing the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines; and a draft board sign.
The project was funded through public support. Any funds raised not used on this project will be used for future projects as well as to maintain the monument, landscaping and to replace flags, Walter said.
The monument was dedicated on Nov. 8, 2003, with a ceremony. An annual ceremony has been held every Veterans Day since then.
The original wooden Union County World War II Honor Roll was by the federal building in Lewisburg, but it fell into disrepair and was torn down. World War II veterans Drew Machamer, of the U.S. Air Corps, and Al Hess, of the U.S. Navy, put their homes up as collateral to build the current $200,000 memorial in Mifflinburg.
Machamer and Hess passed away in 2005 and 2022, respectively. Machamer's widow, Ellen Machamer, also passed away in December and will be recognized at the ceremony on Saturday.
Ellen's daughter Abby Machamer will ring the bell to start the event and her son John Machamer will read the names of those from Union County who died in World War II.
"I consider our Veterans Day ceremony one of the two most important annual events in Mifflinburg, along with our Memorial Day ceremony," Mifflinburg Mayor David Cooney said. "Our other community events are nice but without the dedication and sacrifices of our veterans nothing else would even matter."
In the event of bad weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Mifflinburg Church of the Nazarene, 12 Market St, Mifflinburg.
To purchase a memorial brick or make a tax-deductible donation to help maintain the monument, send donations to Union County Veterans Foundation, 916 Washington Ave., Lewisburg, PA 17837.
Additionally, donations will be accepted for the Hollidaysburg Veterans' Home in Blair County. Monetary donations and gift cards from Weis, Giant and Walmart are accepted.
They are also accepting new sweat pants, with tags, and tops size small to 3XL. Any donations can be dropped off at the ceremony on Saturday.
Checks can be made out to Hollidaysburg Veterans Home. It is a tax deductible donation and their number is 23-6002830.
