Honoring the fallen in song

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

McDONALD — The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks inspired John Schmidt to write a patriotic song, and a bit of encouragement from his daughters inspired him to record it.

Over the years, the song stuck in his head while paving the way for others like it. Since Sept. 11, he’s penned several other such songs — this time on behalf of the soldiers sent to Iraq.

On Sunday, Schmidt also lent his voice to the lyrics of two of his songs as part of a Memorial Day service here.

Schmidt’s songs “This is America” and “Here’s to the Heroes” played well to more than 100 people on hand at the Woodland Park Memorial to attend the service. The observance was set up to honor military personnel who lost their lives in any of several wars. The hour-long event also allowed people to remember those in Iraq.

“This is my way of showing support for the troops and thanking them for their service,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt, a singer and songwriter from Youngstown, said he’s recorded and produced compact discs containing three patriotic songs he’s written. He also sends copies of his CDs to two out-of-state organizations, which include them as part of care packages that are sent to the troops in Iraq, Schmidt said.

Keynote speaker

The event’s keynote speaker was Air Force Tech Sgt. David Oesch, a veteran of the war in Iraq.

Oesch told the crowd that, among other things, he worked in an emergency tent that served as a hospital near Baghdad after volunteering to go to Iraq in 2006. His duties included saving the lives of soldiers in all branches of the military, as well as some insurgents, he said.

“We don’t see ourselves as heroes, but as part of a job we signed up to do,” Oesch said.

Preceding Oesch’s presentation, village Fire Chief Ed Winterbauer and a veteran placed a wreath in front of the memorial, on which are the names of 19 servicemen from McDonald. Afterward, Mayor James W. Border read the names of the men, most of whom were killed in combat during World War II, the Korean War or the war in Vietnam.

Kicking things off was a parade featuring the McDonald High School marching band, which also played taps.

After the ceremony, Oesch was on hand at the fire station to conduct a computerized slide show of his experiences in Iraq.