Blanche and Dick Strausberger, the benefactors of the Polk Township Veterans Memorial, passed away last fall. But there’s little question they would have approved of the rededication of the monument held Memorial Day Sunday.

“My mom was very emotional on these days,” Brian Strausberger said. “She would have loved it.”

The Strausbergers lost their son, David “Whitey” Bartholomew, in the Vietnam War. But the memorial was meant to honor all veterans who risked their lives serving in the military.

Sunday’s annual Memorial Day remembrance in Polk Township also served as the rededication of the monument which sits upon land the Strausbergers donated.

While the was forced indoors at Salem-St. Paul Lutheran Church, more than 100 people showed up, demonstrating the township’s pride for its veterans.

The ceremony had echoes of the original dedication 25 years ago. Bugler George W. Moretz and the Rev. Deborah K. Scheffey participated in both events.

Gary Bruch, a retired Pleasant Valley teacher, also spoke at both ceremonies. On Monday, he recounted the history of the monument, which goes back 70 years, to a time when a committee of residents placed a plaque honoring World War II veterans outside the Polk Township school.

The Strausbergers donated the current site of the memorial after it was cut off from their business during a rerouting of Route 209. Residents felt the site was underappreciated outside the school, and decided on the new, more prominent location.

“Bringing it together with the brand-new, modern memorial would help accentuate it and honor the brave local women and men who served our country so diligently.”

As part of the rededication, the Polk Township Veterans Memorial Commission is adding a new plaque with dozens of names of veterans who served in conflicts following World War II. The veterans and their families got a chance to see a rendering of what the new plaque will look like, and verify their names before it is cast in bronze.

That opportunity brought out emotions from residents whose parents served, including Glenn Rowan and Dalila Jimenez. They are adding their fathers’ names to the plaque.

“We’re grateful they gave us the opportunity to add their names,” Rowan said. “That monument will last.”

Veterans Memorial Commission President Joan McKinsey thanked everyone who brought together the ceremony in a short amount of time, and adapted to holding it indoors due to rainy weather.

“With your overwhelming support for this project, we’re able to honor and show our appreciation to the veterans of Polk Township,” McKinsey said.

West End Memorial Legion Post 927 honored fallen veterans with a rifle salute. Boy Scout Troop 101 and Girl Scout Troops 52309 and 52339 helped them with the ceremonies.

The master of ceremonies was Army Maj. Jim Cameron, a Polk Township native who serves as professor of military science and ROTC commander at Wilkes University.

Speaker Danny Insalata, the commander of American Legion Post 927, recalled the words of a soldier killed in World War I, Pvt. Martin Treptow. Treptow said he would serve cheerfully as if the whole struggle depended on him alone. Insalata said that commitment is still evident in the bravery of the soldiers who conducted the raids on Osama bin Laden and ISIS commander Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and in the graves at Arlington National Cemetery.

“Those who say we’re in a time when there are no heroes just don’t know where to look,” he said.