Members of American Legion Post 131 on St. John gathered with public officials and supporters to honor members of the armed forces who lost their lives in service to the nation. Memorial Day in Franklin Powell Sr. Park provided the setting for a brief but memorable ceremony.
The part most passersby, taxi drivers and customers in a parkside restaurant will likely remember was the rifle shots fired after the reading of the roll of veterans from St. Thomas-St. John, who died since the last observance. Legionnaire Frank Powell Jr. called off 38 names, followed by the rifle salute.
But Sen. Avery Lewis, a scheduled speaker, shared a comment made to him by a member of the public. ”Earlier this morning, someone approached two senators and made a great observation that the flag on Memorial Day should be flown at half-staff until Noon, and then they should be raised to full mast,” Lewis said, “I wanted to say that I loved and appreciated that because sometimes it’s the little simple things that we forget.”
There was also the release of doves at the ceremony’s end by lawmakers Lewis and Angel Bolques, St. John Administrator Shakima Jones-Sprauve, Nellie Varlack representing Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, and members of the American Legion Auxiliary. Photographers snapped as the group flung newfound feathered friends into the air.
But perhaps the most memorable remarks came as the event wrapped up when members of Post 131 spoke to the Source about what Memorial Day meant to them.
“A lot of remembrance of my friends; I went to a military school and I saw one of them die. They didn’t send me to Vietnam — I went to Germany instead … I owe a lot to my friends and Post 131,” said Army Corps of Engineers veteran Jerry Runyon.
Marine veteran Aubrey Sewer said Memorial Day was a reminder, “that we are proud to live in America and proud to have served in the armed forces.”
Navy vet Alvis Christian said the day reminded him, “of a lot of brothers who died and went for our freedom.” In November 2023, Christian testified before the Legislature on behalf of Kendall Emanuel George, a childhood friend from Coral Bay who was killed in Vietnam.
“Memorial Day is when we honor those veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice; who didn’t make it back home, and so we give God thanks for their souls and hope that one day no one will go back to fight wars again,” said Post 131 Commander Harry Daniel, a retired Army Master Sergeant.
Frank Powell Jr. — better known by his nickname, Jimmy — Memorial Day was a time to reconnect with fellow vets. “Visiting the passed service members and meeting with the others — the veterans and the Legionnaires,” he said, adding he looked forward to a trip with his wife to Kentucky to meet more vets stateside.
Powell served two years in the United States Army.
And Edmund Roberts, a six-year Army vet who helped train recruits for Vietnam, shed a tear for his fellow Virgin Islanders whose names made this year’s roll of the honored dead.
“They passed away,” he said. A tourist walking past the park stopped and thanked him for his service.
