Memorial Day ceremonies across the Northwoods yesterday honored those who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
The Oneida County Veterans Council hosted the service in Rhinelander, complete with speakers, music and remembrance.
On Monday morning, Wisconsin Army National Guard Sgt. Elisha Williams recited the number of Americans who died in each war in United States history.
“Two thousand, four hundred and forty-six. Spanish American War,” she read aloud. “Four hundred and five thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine. World War II.”
Addressing a crowd gathered at Rhinelander’s Mike Webster Stadium, she called on Wisconsinites to put aside their differences to honor the millions of men and women who sacrificed their lives serving in the U.S. armed forces.
“Despite our individual differences we are stitched together by our love for this nation, and our desire to see it grow and improve,” she said. “We owe it to our dead to build on the noble foundation they laid for us.”
Williams delivered her speech as part of Rhinelander’s hour-long Memorial Day ceremony.
In addition to her keynote address, the Rhinelander high school show choir and band performed patriotic music to honor fallen soldiers and veterans.
The Oneida County Veterans Council awarded a scholarship to a graduating high school senior, and the ceremony ended with a roll call honoring a list of Oneida County veterans who died in the past two years.
Rhinelander’s Memorial Day Ceremony was one of many in-person and virtual events that took place across Northern Wisconsin this Memorial Day.
