Ben Dawson a retired Marine and currently the commander of the Marine Corp League, Cache Valley talks with Carlton Brown about the medals of Dan Gyllenskog who the Veterans Resource Center was named after on May 26, 2022.
WELLSVILLE – Every Memorial Day the Marine Corps League Cache Valley reverently honors those men and women who sacrificed their lives for their country with a ceremony in several cemeteries in the area.
Local marines want to honor American servicemen and women who have answered the call to defend the United States and promote peace around the globe. Memorial Day gives all Americans an opportunity to salute those who gave their lives for the freedom for the whole country.
The ceremony will begin at the Wellsville Cemetery at 10 a.m. on the dot, said Ben Dawson, a retired operations commander of the 3rd Battalion.
“After the Wellsville Cemetery program, we will visit the Devin Cudley home,” Dawson, a 23-year retired veteran of the Marine Corps, said. “The Cudley family has a memorial for him in front of their home and we will honor him there.”
“The Wellsville time is usually well over an hour and then add the travelling time,” Dawson said. “The other time we get to cemeteries varies due to distance and time spent at each location.”
They will have a flag raising ceremony, play Taps, have a 21 gun salute and do a short memorial service when all the names are read of all the fallen soldiers, airmen, Marines and members of the Coast Guard at the Wellsville Cemetery.
After leaving Wellsville the group will head to Mendon, Millville, Providence, Logan, Hyde Park, Smithfield, Clarkston Cemetery and finally Preston.
Cache Valley’s Marine Corps has been doing the ceremonies on Memorial Day since 2010 when Carlton Brown began doing the memorials as the commander.
“Our numbers of the Marine Corps League Cache Valley are growing,” Brown said. “We meet once a month at the Cache Valley Veteran’s Center.”
Brown named each marine buried in each cemetery.
“When we are all finished, we will eat a light meal at Golden City Restaurant in Preston, owned by a former Marine,” Brown said.