Veterans offer rifle salute at memorials, cemeteries in Medina

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Veterans line up around the Company F memorial in front of the YMCA (formerly the Medina Armory and home to Company F) to fire a three-gun salute this morning.

MEDINA – Memorial Day observances began early in Medina on Monday morning, with members of Medina’s Honor Guard firing three-gun salutes at all the veterans’ sites in the village and nearby area.

The Honor Guard, made up of members of Medina’s American Legion and VFW, met early for coffee and donuts at the VFW, before starting out with their rifles and flags.

Peter Huth, right, reads a prayer as the Honor Guard waits to fire a three-gun salute in the veterans’ section at Boxwood Cemetery.

Their first stop is always the Vietnam Veterans’ memorial in front of the American Legion on North Main Street, followed by the veterans’ sections at Boxwood Cemetery, St. Mary’s Cemetery and Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Then it was on to the Company F Memorial in front of the YMCA, formerly the Medina Armory. Next stop is the Korean War Memorial on Park Avenue, across from the Olde Pickle Factory; then the tank at Oak Orchard Elementary School; and, lastly, the Butts-Clark Memorial in Butts Park on South Main Street.

Flag carriers representing the five branches of the military stand at attention in Boxwood Cemetery as Ryder Jones, left, and his brother River, in the distance at right, play echo taps.

At each site today, the service began with a prayer read by Peter Huth, followed by the three-gun salute and ending with echo taps, played by brothers Ryder and River Jones, both Medina High School students and members of the Mustang Marching Band.

Jim Freas is the officer in charge of the volunteers, who says he can’t remember how long they’ve been providing this honor to veterans.

Bradley Nudd, a member of the firing squad, said he started in 1972, when his dad Al Nudd told him they needed younger men to step up. He has been participating ever since, sometimes stepping in as bugler.

Veterans from the VFW and American Legion enjoy coffee and donuts before starting out to fire three-gun salutes at veterans’ memorials in the area on Memorial Day. In front are Jim Freas, officer in command of the Honor Guard, Larry Szatkowski and Dave Wells. At rear are Marine Nick Fintak and Medina Mustang buglers River and Ryder Jones.