In honor of Memorial Day weekend, local area veterans (L to R) Al Gag, Dave Hoffmann, Jerry Thompson, Denny Warta and John Gohr laid the wreath at the “Spirit of the American Doughboy Statue” in New Ulm Cemetery, Friday. The laying the of wreath is annual tradition. The ceremony included a performance of taps by Thompson. The Doughboy statue was originally dedicated 79 years ago as a memorial to veterans of the First Word War. Warta recited the poem “In Flanders” Fields” by Lt. Col. John McCrae that appears in front of the monument. McCrae was a Canadian physician who served in the First World War and observed fellow soldiers dying in the Second Battle of Ypres. The poem’s reference to poppies led to the flower being a world-recognized symbol of a soldier lost in a conflict. New Ulm’s Memorial Day Observance will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 31 in the city cemetery.

In honor of Memorial Day weekend, local area veterans (L to R) Al Gag, Dave Hoffmann, Jerry Thompson, Denny Warta and John Gohr laid the wreath at the “Spirit of the American Doughboy Statue” in New Ulm Cemetery, Friday. The laying the of wreath is annual tradition. The ceremony included a performance of taps by Thompson. The Doughboy statue was originally dedicated 79 years ago as a memorial to veterans of the First Word War. Warta recited the poem “In Flanders” Fields” by Lt. Col. John McCrae that appears in front of the monument. McCrae was a Canadian physician who served in the First World War and observed fellow soldiers dying in the Second Battle of Ypres. The poem’s reference to poppies led to the flower being a world-recognized symbol of a soldier lost in a conflict.

New Ulm’s Memorial Day Observance will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 31 in the city cemetery.