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Video by Lt. Col. Keith Hickox

28th Infantry Division Memorial Service

Joint Force Headquarters - Pennsylvania National Guard

May 21, 2023 | 3:11

Soldiers with the 28th Infantry Division and friends and family of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard continued a tradition of remembering the “Iron Division’s” fallen soldiers during the annual memorial service on May 21, 2023. The gathering in Boalsburg, near State College, Pa., marks the 93rd time for the ceremony which includes a processional of unit colors and the laying of wreaths.
“Today, we honor the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 28th Infantry Division – The Keystone Division – and remember the over 4,000 men and women of the 28th whose names are engraved here,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, the adjutant general of Pennsylvania. “We also continue to honor, those left behind, those whose sacrifice is so precious, so costly, it can never be repaid…our Gold Star families.”

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Horace Pysher, who served nearly 39 years in the U.S. Army and Pennsylvania Army National Guard, holding senior enlisted positions at both the division and state levels, provided the Keynote speech.
The division memorial sits alongside the Pennsylvania Military Museum. Always held a week before Memorial Day, the ceremony, also features the 28th Division Band, equipment displays and an artillery gun salute.
The 28th Division holds many distinctions including being the oldest continuously serving unit in the U.S. Army.
Boalsburg claims to have started Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day. It was here – at a cemetery across the road from what would become the grounds of the division shrine – that townspeople pledged to meet each year to place flowers on the graves of Civil War soldiers. A fitting place for the Soldiers of the 28th Division to continue honoring their fallen.