With parishioners watching respectfully from the sidewalk, an honor guard of military veterans from the Emmaus Veteran's Committee, along with members of the Allentown Marine Band marched along Devonshire Road, through the Jerusalem Western Salisbury Church cemetery, then conducted a military ceremony at the church's veteran's memorial for the 125th annual Memorial Day program May 18.

In the march through the cemetery, parishioners with flowers broke off from the procession to place bouquets of flowers on the graves of loved ones buried there.

Dale Seidel, commander of Emmaus American Legion Post 191, led the honor guard in the ceremony honoring the community's war veterans. Riflemen fired a three-shot volley and Allentown musician Rich Shankweiler bugled taps.

Although not a veteran himself, Shankweiler, a former Salisbury Township School District maintenance director, said his participation in veteran memorial services was his "give back to those who served" in the nation's military.

Inside the church, the Allentown Marine Band, led by long-time conductor Tom Heinick, played "The Star Spangled Banner," the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "God Bless America."

Featured speaker, the Honorable Joseph Zeller, is a 95-year-old veteran of World War II and the Korean War, a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and a former mayor of Emmaus. Zeller said Americans who served in the nation's military, particularly in war time, "wrote a blank check to their country, not knowing whether they would end up maimed, or be called on to give the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for their nation."

Zeller said military veterans deserve to be adequately cared for by their country when they return wounded, maimed or injured mentally. He urged his listeners to speak up to elected representatives in Washington, to urge them to provide the financial resources to provide adequate care for those who served and sacrificed.