Staff Sgt. Derick Young, the guest speaker at Monday’s Memorial Day service in Canfield, receives a flag and certificate from Mark Yoder, commander of the American Legion Post 177, at the Wall of Honor outside the Canfield War Vets Museum.

CANFIELD — Derick Young, director of the Mahoning County Common Pleas Veterans Honor Court and a former U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant, said it’s very important “to remember the lives and sacrifices of our nation’s fallen heroes.”

Young, the guest speaker at Canfield’s 103rd annual Memorial Day Service, said Monday: “So many men and women have given their lives for all that we are blessed with today — and that’s freedom.”

Young said Memorial Day “is about those who paid the ultimate price for what we all enjoy.”

“Many of us are far too stubborn and prideful to accept and respect other points of view. Please do not fall into that trap because it’s a very slippery slope that some of us may never recover from. We would be doing our fallen a disservice to their memory. We would be destroying what they fought so hard for,” he said.

Chuck Coleman, adjutant for the American Legion Post 177 in Canfield, said Memorial Day is “the most important holiday that the American Legion participates in because we’re not only honoring those who served, but those who served and died. There’s a big difference in my opinion. As a vet, you say you’re willing to give up your life for your country. We honor people who actually did that.”

The event started with speeches at the Veterans Plaza at the North Village Green followed by a procession to the Canfield East Cemetery to honor deceased Canfield veterans and then the Canfield War Vets Museum.

Four names were added to the museum’s Wall of Honor.

They are:

Albert Mazzeo, a U.S. Army airborne paratrooper who was killed in action during World War II.

Dan McBride, a U.S. Army airborne paratrooper who served during World War II and received three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.

Richard Powell, a U.S. Marine Corps member killed in action during the Vietnam War who received a Purple Heart and the Navy Cross.

Norman Swaney, a U.S. Army airborne paratrooper who was a prisoner of war during World War II. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

About 200 people attended Monday’s service in Canfield.

“I’m so happy to see so many people come out on Memorial Day to remember our past heroes and those who fought,” said Mark Yoder, commander of Post 177. “It’s a very important day. This is in memory of those who’ve fallen. It’s their day.”

Have an interesting story? Contact David Skolnick by email at dskolnick@vindy.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @dskolnick.