Halifax Community Comes Together to Remember the Fallen

By: Dylan Bowman, HAHS Board Member

May 26, 2025

Participants in the Halifax Memorial Day Parade pass out flags and interact with fellow community members. Photograph by Dylan Bowman.

The Parade

Usually, Memorial Day weekend is marked by unrelenting heat that ushers in the Pennsylvania summer. This year, that was not the case, as bystanders in the Halifax Memorial Day Parade looked on with perfect 65 degree weather overhead. Blue skies. Sunshine. A slight breeze. Many Halifaxians grabbed their small American flags and stood on the sidewalks of 2nd and 3rd Streets, ready to remember the fallen and honor their sacrifice with fellow community members.

This year's Memorial Day parade consisted of the Halifax VFW, Halifax Boy Scout Troop 1165, and Cub Scout Pack 156, Cub Scout Pack 144, the Halifax Area High School Band and the Halifax and Fisherville fire companies, EMS and police. And of course, dozens and dozens of Halifaxians turned out to see the parade and support our men and women in uniform.

Parade participants march through town, passing out American flags to happy onlookers. Photographs by Dylan Bowman.

Ceremony & Remembrance

As the parade slowed and voices hushed, a benediction was given by Pastor Zach Willis of Word of Life Chapel to start the ceremony. The community gathering totaled around 200 who came out to support and honor those who had given the last full measure of devotion in the military.

Keith Poffenburger made a speech that took aim at the heart of the day's matter...the beginnings of Memorial Day and its importance to both those that served as well as the culture that recognizes it. As the ceremony drew to a close, a five-gun salute rang out from VFW Post 5750 members, followed by the playing of taps as the flag waved over Halifax Park.

Though it is a day of celebration in which flags are waved and food is thrown on the grill for time shared with loved ones and friends, it is critical that we truly remember what the day is for. Sure, it is said every year, but I have to always remind myself, as should each of us...if it wasn't for those men and women who gave their lives in the brutal carnage of war, we wouldn't even be here. No families. No friends. No freedom. No picnics. No country of peace and prosperity to live in.

This is something that we all take for granted every day of our lives, as we move to and fro, working, playing, going to school, living the American Dream. Just remember that if it wasn't for the 18-year-old soldier bleeding out on the beaches of Normandy, that dream wouldn't be possible.

Thank a veteran for what they did for you today, and remember the fallen.

The ceremony of the Halifax Memorial Day Parade progresses as citizens of the community look on and listen to the words of the day's speakers. Photographs by Dylan Bowman.