Mayor Skinner Speaks at Memorial Day Service
BUCKHANNON, WV: Mayor Robbie Skinner joined the Upshur County Honor Guard, which includes members of VFW Post 3663 and American Legion Post 7, as well as other community leaders and members, to honor the fallen heroes on this Memorial Day. The service took place at the Heavner Cemetery. Here are Mayor Skinner’s remarks:
Good afternoon,
Welcome, and thank you all for being here today as we gather to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our nation.
I especially want to thank the Upshur County Honor Guard for presiding over today’s ceremony and for the dignity, reverence, and patriotism you continue to show our community year after year.
Memorial Day is not simply the unofficial start of summer. It is one of the most sacred days we observe as Americans. It is a day set aside to remember those who never made it home — the sons and daughters, husbands and wives, friends and neighbors who answered the call to serve, and in doing so, gave what President Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion.”
In communities like ours, remembrance is personal.
The names etched on monuments, the flags placed beside graves, and the stories passed down through generations remind us that freedom has always come at a cost. Many of those we honor today once walked our streets, sat in our churches, attended our schools, and called this same community their home as we do every day.
Today, we pause to remember their courage. We pause to remember their sacrifice. And we pause to remember the families who carried on without them.
As Mayor, I am deeply proud to serve a community that still values service, patriotism, and respect for those who came before us. We owe a debt we can never fully repay, but we can honor their memory by living lives worthy of their sacrifice — by loving our country, serving our neighbors, and never taking our freedoms for granted.
So today, may we not only remember the fallen, but may we also carry forward their legacy with gratitude and purpose.
May God bless the men and women we honor today, may God bless their families, and may God continue to bless the City of Buckhannon, the State of West Virginia, and the United States of America.
Thank you,
Robbie Skinner
Mayor, City of Buckhannon
The service was led by Upshur County Honor Guard Commander Ed Smith. Buckhannon City Recorder Randy Sanders, newly elected City Council Member Shawn Young, and WV Senator Robbie Morris were also in attendance.
