The Owego community gathers to remember

By JoAnn R. Walter — 

American flags and wreaths adorned the Court Street Bridge and Tioga County Veterans Memorial Park in Owego as guests gathered for the annual parade and remembrance ceremony on Memorial Day.

Veterans and school groups, the OFA Parade Band, police, fire department and first responders, along with antique fire trucks, and others, took part in the annual Memorial Day parade, which kicked off at 10 a.m. John Loftus organized the annual parade.

Barbara Bilbrey, Gold Star Mother to Specialist Charles Bilbrey, Jr., served as Master of Ceremonies.

Bilbrey, Jr. was born and raised in Owego, a member of Scout Troop 38, and graduated from OFA. He was killed in action in 2007 while serving in Iraq, and now rests in Owego’s St. Patrick’s Cemetery. His name is engraved on the Modern Warfare Memorial. 

Barbara opened the ceremony, “All of us here today are continuing in the generations-old tradition of gathering to remember, and by being here today you are showing that you understand the value and meaning of today.”

Barbara noted that for the last 60 years, Jim Raftis, Sr., the Memorial Day Chairman and a Korean War veteran, has emceed the ceremony. Raftis attended the ceremony, seated nearby.

The V.F.W. Post 1371 Color Guard opened the ceremony by presenting the colors. The National Anthem was performed by the OFA Parade Band, and under the direction of Lindsey Williams.

Michael Donovan, Deacon at Blessed Trinity and St. Patrick’s Parishes, and also the Chaplain of the V.F.W. Honor Guard, delivered the invocation.

Deacon Mike shared, “Today we remember and honor all of those who gave their lives to the service of this country,” adding, “Some of us will mark the Memorial Day weekend by having barbecues, but for me it’s far more than a hot dog on a grill.”

Deacon Mike joined the U.S. Marine Corp. in 1967, and later served in the Army Reserves. In the Army, Donovan was a Drill Sergeant, and where he was part of a team who trained soldiers deployed to Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Deacon Mike added, “In Washington, D.C. there are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Wall, the men and women who lost their lives. I knew, trained, and lived with some of them, so Memorial Day is important to me.”

Some 620,000 lost their lives during the Civil War, and where Memorial Day, then called Decoration Day, originated.   

Barbara explained that several organizations and individuals participated in “Flags In,” and where flags were placed at veterans’ graves throughout Tioga County.  

DAR member Karen Messersmith shared, “The men who marched through this area during the Revolution saw that it was a beautiful and fertile valley. After the war, they returned with their families to settle here.”

Messersmith noted that there are upwards of 100 Revolutionary soldiers buried in Tioga County cemeteries, and commented that the grandsons of those soldiers went on to fight in the Civil War. Messersmith then placed a wreath in their honor at the Civil War monument.

Barbara recognized Seaman Delmar Dale Sibley, the first WWII casualty from Tioga County who was aboard the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. A member of the Marine Corps then cast a wreath into the Susquehanna River to honor those lost at sea, while the OFA Parade Band performed the Navy Hymn. 

Owego resident and Vietnam Veteran Lew Sauerbrey recited the names of Tioga County heroes who gave their lives in service to our country, and whose names are engraved on the memorials. Students from OES delivered flags to a V.F.W. member who placed them in a remembrance basket. Each flag represented a fallen hero.

Sauerbrey also read names of deceased Tioga County veterans since Veteran’s Day 2023. 

The OFA Parade Band performed a salute to America’s finest, a patriotic medley of Armed Services songs. 

Barbara announced plaques presented by Raftis to Mary Beth Jones, from the Tioga County Courier; and JoAnn R. Walter, Owego Pennysaver reporter, for their commitment to “Roll Call,” which is the annual reading of the names of deceased veterans buried in Tioga County cemeteries.

Barbara also remembered Gordon Ichikawa, a long-time sound system professional at Tioga County ceremonies, and who recently passed away.  Gordon’s mother was sent to an internment camp on the west coast during WWII, and his father was a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient who served in Italy during the war.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Deacon Mike offered the benediction. The V.F.W. Honor Guard rendered a rifle salute, and bugler Steve Palinosky played “Taps.”