Fred Soller, 96, of Boardman, a World War II veteran, stands next to the veterans memorial after Monday’s 119th annual Boardman Memorial Day Service in Boardman Park. Veterans and current military personnel were honored.

BOARDMAN — Fred Soller doesn’t hesitate to express pride in having served his nation, but he also wonders how alive and well that same level and spirit of patriotism remains with today’s younger generation.

“If push came to shove and somebody was going to invade our country, would young people say, ‘Count me in?’ We wanted to go into the service,” Soller, 96, of Boardman, a World War II Navy veteran, said.

For having served from 1944 to 1946 in the Navy, Soller was recognized and received applause during the 119th annual Boardman Memorial Day Service on Monday at Boardman Park’s Maag Outdoor Amphitheater.

Hosting the often somber gathering to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the country was the Boardman-Youngstown Kiwanis Club. Acting as master of ceremonies for the 90-minute program was Mark Luke of Boardman-Youngstown Kiwanis, who also gave a summation on the history of Memorial Day.

After graduating from South High School in Youngstown in 1944, Soller was drafted, then enlisted in the Navy, where he was a quartermaster aboard the U.S.S. Carter Hall in the South Pacific. His duties included steering the large ship and using a sextant to track its location, as well as ensuring an American flag was properly hoisted, the color combinations of which were used to communicate with other Navy units without the messages being intercepted by the enemy, he explained.

After being discharged, Soller, who was last year’s parade grand marshal, attended Miami University in Oxford and The Ohio State University School of Dentistry, both of which were preludes for his 51-year career as a dentist before Soller retired in 2006.

Delivering the keynote address was U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel after having joined in 1973.

“I did what I did, not out of obligation, but as a debt of gratitude,” Johnson said, adding that his core values are integrity, service before self and excellence in all one does.

Johnson, the recipient of several medals for his service, noted that an estimated 1.3 million Americans died in wars while fighting for freedom since the country’s founding.

Johnson recalled his visit to Omaha Beach in June 2019 to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. During the June 6, 1944, invasion, more than 160,000 Allied troops overwhelmed German forces in what most historians consider a major turning point in the war.

Johnson recalled having stood on the beach looking at a hill on which were distant gravesites of American soldiers who had been killed in the attack. He also heard the story of a WWII veteran who had fought at Normandy and in the Battle of the Bulge, and whose orders were to “take out two targets before you’re killed,” Johnson remembered.

“Folks, freedom is not free,” the seven-term congressman said. “If you think it is, you’re delusional. It takes blood and sacrifice to guard our nation.”

Johnson also read excerpts of an article Lt. Col. John Kelly wrote titled “Six Seconds to Live,” in which he talks about two young Marines, each from a different infantry battalion, who in 2008 guarded a makeshift barracks in Ramadi, Iraq – a city controlled by al-Qaida. Six seconds elapsed between when a bomb-carrying truck entered an alley and detonated, after which the two Marines were killed but had saved the lives of their comrades.

Also during the program, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Moss placed a wreath at the memorial to honor military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice. MacKenzie Kelso, Boardman High School National Honor Society president, placed another wreath nearby to honor those currently serving the nation.

In addition, the gathering featured an Armed Forces salute in which veterans of all military branches stood on either side of the flagpole as their service songs were being played.

Before the program, many attendees watched a Blackhawk helicopter land in the park after it had taken off from the Selfridge Air National Guard base in Michigan. Piloting the plane were Dan Houting and Christopher Dobozy, who served in the Marines and Army, respectively, and who work for the U.S. Border Patrol.

Dobozy also is a Boardman native.

After being recognized for his service in WWII, Soller, a father of three, received a more personal recognition from his daughter, Suzie Soller Terpay of Medina.

“All I can think of to say of this young man is that he is one of the most, if not the most, honorable, faithful, honest, truthful person that I’ve ever met,” a tearful Soller Terpay said.

“I have been truly blessed to have him as our father, and we’re all proud of him.”