North Royalton Mayor Bob Stefanik and members of Veterans of Foreign War Post 3345 gathered at the North Royalton Cemetery on Memorial Day to honor those service men and women who gave their lives for our freedom.
Mayor Stefanik told the assembled crowd that “we honor those veterans just by your attendance. Their sacrifices are marked with headstones and tiny flags that wave in the breeze. Their names are carved in the stones and memorials across the nation and on distant shores. They will forever be in our memory. They will forever by in our hearts. We will be forever grateful.”
Among those attending the ceremony were brothers Fred and Ray DeAnna, both military veterans. Fred said attending a service like this was “the patriotic thing to do on Memorial Day is to have a sense of community with everyone else.” Ray said on Memorial Day, “I have a sense of pride for serving in the military and a sense of sorrow for all those who never made it home.”
Dave Anderson continued his scouting tradition by bringing his wife and children to the ceremony. “I want to show support for those who served.” Dave was pushing a stroller that was carrying his daughter Aubrey to her first Memorial Day Service.
Tim Zvoncheck, commander of VFW Post 3345, said he hopes those who attend this service “remember the sacrifices of so many veterans that allow us to live where we live so we enjoy three-day holidays. I hope they will never be forgotten.”
Following the ceremony at the North Royalton Ceremony, most of the crowd walked over the North Royalton City Green to the Marine Corporal Jeffrey Boskovitch Memorial.
North Royalton’s Veterans Liaison, Wally Ohler, and others read the names of men and women who died in service to our country. Wally had a special message to his “band of Angels in North Royalton.”
“When I travel to 11 states, Arlington Cemetery and the Vietnam Wall, I take a piece of all of you with me. When you return home tonight and prepare to go to bed, remember it is these soldiers’ sacrifices that allow you to lie down and go to sleep. Today is a day when God’s children come together to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Let’s strive to make our community a better place.”
Before the ceremony at the Boskovitch Memorial came to a close, Ohler had some special words for North Royalton resident and Vietnam War Veteran Ray Pesho.
“Because of your service to our country, I will carry your story to Texas, Florida and Washington. It’s because of sacrifices that you made serving this country that we are allowed to live in freedom. I will have a flag flown at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC in your honor.”
After receiving the honor, Pesho told me that his thoughts on Memorial Day are of a war buddy that he met 50 years ago. “When I leave here, I’m going to Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland to see him. It’s just him and me and we have our talk. Memorial Day means so much to me and our country. People have asked me if I had to do it again, would I? I tell them every bit of it!”
If you have not attended one of these Memorial Day Services in North Royalton, mark it on your calendar for 2019.

By JOE JASTRZEMSKI
Contributing Writer