Edgewood parish honors vets, active military at Mass

Quilt of valor was presented to brother by his little sister

EDGEWOOD — On Sunday, Nov. 5, St. Mark Parish in Edgewood honored active military men and women and veterans in anticipation of Veterans Day.

Local veterans were invited to celebrate Mass with the parish where they were recognized and thanked for their service and given a special blessing and a standing ovation from parishioners.

In an effort to support families who have been affected by recent deployments, a special “freedom candle” was also lit, which will remain burning while servicemen and women from the Emmaus Pastorate are on deployment. The children of three families (the Walz, Faust and DeShaw families) lit the candle. The candle will sit on a refinished candlestick, which is believed to have been the original baptismal candlestick of the parish.

A “quilt of valor” was also presented to former faith formation student Chet Hauge. Hauge’s quilt was made by his younger sister Ashley for her Girl Scout silver award.

Following Mass, a social was held in the parish hall, which included a video tribute with photos of veterans from the surrounding area.

Veterans Day was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on Nov. 11, 1918, according to Military.com. In legislation that was passed in 1938, Nov. 11 was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’” This new legal holiday honored World War I veterans. In 1954, the U.S. Congress — at the urging of the veterans service organizations — amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Chet Hauge and his sister Ashley Pape pose with the quilt Pape made and presented to her brother at Mass on Nov. 5 as part of the parish’s Veterans Day celebration.