Twice each year, preceding Memorial Day in May and Veterans Day in November, members of Sunbury Halter & Saddle 4-H Club gather at a local cemetery to place flags and markers on veterans’ graves as a club service project.
Sunbury Halter & Saddle 4-H Club has been working with members of the Big Walnut Area Historical Society and American Legion Post 457 on the ongoing veterans cemetery project, under the direction of SH&S adviser Suzanne Allen.
Last Sunday, club members and their families gathered at Sunbury Memorial Park to place flags and markers on the graves of World War II veterans. Also in attendance were American Legion Post 457 member Dick Doritty and Dan Shaw, Myers Inn Museum curator Polly Horn and Warren Owen.
While at each grave site, a club member read a short biography of the veteran, including birth and death dates, branch of service, place of enlistment, rank at discharge, and service commendations.
Of special note during this visit to Sunbury Memorial Park was a stop at the grave site of Robert Nichols, an active Post 457 member who passed away on Oct. 22.
Nichols enlisted in the U. S. Army Air Corps on Aug. 6, 1941, at Fort Hayes in Columbus. He served in the U. S. Army Air Corps in the Officers Classification Section during World War II.
Following this year’s Veterans Day project at Sunbury Memorial Park, Sunbury & Saddle 4-H’ers, their families, American Legion Post 457 members and other veterans held a pot luck supper at Sunbury Town Hall.
Allen said researching and recognizing eastern Delaware County veterans from past wars is an ongoing project, and if anyone knows of a Big Walnut area veteran buried in eastern Delaware County or elsewhere who does not have a veteran’s grave marker, or is not listed on the Big Walnut Area Historical Society website (BigWalnutHistory.org), you should contact her through the historical society.
