VFW hosts annual Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Wall of Honor

By Jacob Mann Frontiersman.com

WASILLA —VFW Post 9365 hosted the 2023 Memorial Day ceremony at the Mat-Su Veterans Wall of Honor Monday, May 28.

VFW Post 9365 commander, Ryan Moe said they had a great turnout this year.

"It went really well," Moe said.

During this year's ceremony, local mayors issued proclamations recognizing the significance of Memorial Day and paid tribute to the sacrifices made by men and women in the U.S. military.

Numerous guest speakers such as Senator Lisa Murkowski and Alaska VA Director Verdie Bowen Sr. also provided speaker presentations for the ceremony.

Moe said that these type of community events are very important and are a great way to help raise awareness for the true meaning and value of Memorial Day

"The more people that show up the better," Moe said. "It really brings light to those who did see combat and did make the ultimate sacrifice."

Each year, a different veterans group in the Mat-Su Valley hosts the Memorial Day ceremony with the support of other groups. Moe said that he appreciates the dedicated network of community oriented veterans and community members that come together to make this annual event a reality.

"I think it's awesome," Moe said. "It's just about getting people out and getting the holiday recognized."

There are numerous ways that community members can honor veterans and not just on Memorial Day such as thanking a veteran for their service.

Moe suggested a simple yet powerful way people can honor veterans and everything they fought for: hanging up an American flag, taking proper care of it, lowering and raising it during designated times of importance, and respectfully retiring it when it's damaged.

Moe said the VFW and other local veterans groups offer flag retirement ceremonies throughout the year. He said the VFW also replaces flags across the community for free on a case by case basis.

"Just be proud of our flag and our country," Moe said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com