In 1969, Norman Lee Von Ahrens was killed while serving in Vietnam. His widow, Sandy Knapp, has visited his gravesite every Memorial Day since he was laid to rest in Springfield Township Cemetery.
Joined this year with her pups Zofia and Maddie, she was among many area residents who know all too well freedom isn’t free. In fact, the price of freedom is immeasurable and held so dear that Americans will always defend it.
Memorial Day is a time to reflect and honor those who reflect and honor those who gave the “last measure of their devotion” that we may live today.
Ms. Knapp finds comfort in the traditions of honoring those who paid the ultimate price passed along to the Springfield High School JROTC Cadets and members of the Blue Devils Marching Band. It was through the puppies that we learned her “why.”
Then there is local Veteran Mark Schalow. His “why” was discovered by Springfield Local Schools Assistant Superintendent Dana Falkenberg, who exchanged greetings as she passed him seated on a bench.
As often happens with strangers in a cemetery, they began a conversation. Mr. Schalow said he was grateful to have the band there, acknowledging how much it meant to him.
A 1954 graduate, he said, “ I was in the SHS band from 1952-54, and played in this event every year.”
Mrs. Falkenberg said, “it meant the world to him to tell me that. It also meant the world to him, as he said, that’s what kept him in school.”
Mr. Schalow played in the drum and bugle corps in the service, has played in bands and continues to play to this day.
“That moved me for many reasons,” Mrs. Falkenberg said. “First, I don’t know if Band Director Travis Pennell and his musicians get ample gratitude for the time and commitment to being a part of this ceremony every year, but it matters. It matters a lot more than even those accolades given that day from the podium by the Commander of American Legion Post 646.”
Mr. Schalow also shared memories with Sherri Koback, a member of the board of education and SHS alumna Class of 1985.
Mrs. Koback went to school with the Schalow children and shares with former classmates a lifetime of memories that include school and community traditions.
Mr. Schalow believes the “whys” and the community stories must be maintained and perhaps revisited in locations such as the cemetery. And he isn’t leaving it all up to chance meetings like those experienced on Memorial Day.
“I’m involved with the Holland- Springfield- Spencer Historical Society to keep our memories going,” he said.
What moved many people that day was the realization of how much connections matter. In 1954, a young man graduated because he stuck it out for band. That matters.
He went on to serve our nation and thankfully made it back to his family and community. That matters.
In 1969, a young woman lost her husband because of a conflict that took place a world away. On Memorial Day 2023, Ms. Knapp and Mr. Schalow, and so many others, were connected in that cemetery by a myriad of emotions.
Their “whys” were perhaps different, but they were somehow connected to all who gather at parades, in cemeteries, and at community events throughout the nation to honor the lives of loved ones, friends and heroes who did not return. That matters.
