By Evan Myers | Times-Post
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MARKLEVILLE — In 1970, Dave Padgett learned his brother Jon, a soldier serving in Cambodia, was killed in action during an enemy ambush.
In 1997, Dave Padgett stood with more than 200 people for the dedication of Markleville Memorial Square, a monument honoring Hoosiers who died in service to their country. Jon Padgett’s name is inscribed on a marble monument, which sits in the middle of the small park in downtown Markleville, as a veteran of the Vietnam War.
This past Saturday, Nov. 11 — Veterans Day — Markleville conducted a rededication ceremony for the memorial. Padgett called in late to work; he had something to do for his brother that he couldn’t miss.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryHe stood with nearly 100 people who attended the ceremony for the Fallen Heroes of Adams Township monument. Markleville Community Association and town council members gave the same speeches from the original dedication.
“It’s amazing just seeing people who I remember being here,” Padgett said. “I remember a lot of people who aren’t here anymore, too.”
The ceremony was attended by dozens of descendants, families and friends of the veterans whose names are inscribed on the monument.
Doris Shrake and Virginia Hays from AMVETS Auxiliary No. 25, the oldest veterans’ auxiliary in Indiana, placed flowers on the memorial as names of past and present military members were read.
“It’s great for the community to come together and do this,” Padgett said. “Not just for me, but for all the names on there… This is a lot of people in a very small town, so it’s a big deal.”
The town chose to rededicate the monument this year to give people who were present for the building of the park a chance to gather once more.
“Those who still remember are getting older now,” Markle- ville Community Association president Jan Fox said. “They’re still here to really appreciate the veterans and the memorial’s original dedication.”
Markleville Town Council member Daniel Roseberry read the speech given by council member Mary V. Grandison during the first ceremony.
The association agreed the sentiment expressed in the original dedication holds true today, Fox said.
“We wanted the memorial monument to be visible to all who pass through our town,” Roseberry’s speech read. “So we chose to make it the focal point of our endeavor.”
“Small-town America is a dying breed,” the homage continued. “But we have incorporated some of the past into our efforts here, in hope of keeping ours alive.”
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FALLEN HEROES OF ADAMS TOWNSHIP
Civil War:
Joel Hoppes
John H. Gilmore
Amos R. Gustin
Jeremiah Gray
Avery Riggs
Jeremiah Sullivan
World War I:
Bryan Lewis
Forrest Hardy
Voyles Ritter
Jessie Lanham
Walter Legg
World War II:
Worth Jackson
Charles Snideman
Harold Ebbert
Richard Mace
Leonard Shaw
Howard Wade
Richard Millspaugh
Korean War:
Kenneth Clem
Vietnam War:
Jon Padgett
Richard Creason
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