Richboro Pauses to Honor Fallen on Memorial Day

It’s a day off, filled with barbecues, beaches and bliss from the official start of summer.

That said, the real message of Memorial Day can, unfortunately, be clouded. But for many Americans, particularly those who have a friend or family member serving our country or have lost someone doing so, it’s a special time for pause and honor.

“Today I ask you, who will honor these soldiers of the United States of America?” remarked Bucks County Commissioner a former member of the Army, Robert Loughery. “Who will honor them? It must be you and I.”

Loughery, whose grandfather was a prisoner of war following World War II’s Battle of the Little Bulge, made his comments at the Robert H. Dembowski, Jr. Memorial Park during a morning ceremony in Richboro. The park was named in honor of Robert, a Council Rock North graduate who enlisted in the Army right after graduating high school. He ended up in Afghanistan as part of the 82nd Infantry Division, but on May 24, 2007, was killed just outside of that country while on active duty at the age of 20.

“It’s not just for him. It’s representing all of the fallen soldiers and the people who are still in combat,” said Robert’s older sister, Janice Dembowski.

“He lived his dream,” she added. “He wanted to do it, I think, since he was born. He talked about it when we were little.”

Janice attended the ceremony with her mother and other family members, who laid a wreath at the site in Robert’s honor.

“With prayer and effort, that peace can spread,” his mother told a crowd filled with residents, veterans, current members of the Armed Forces and elected officials, who braved the heat thanks to water provided by . “Believe it. It can happen.”

The ceremony included a rifle salute with taps from bugler Ryan Carlin, the National Anthem sung by Council Rock student Hailey Brown and the Pledge of Allegiance from a Navy Cross recipient who was seriously injured after taking the brunt of a grenade blast to protect his platoon during the Vietnam War.

There was also an invocation and benediction by the Rev. Harold McKale of and a keynote speech from Michael Lecker. A retired math teacher and former principal of Holland Middle School, Lecker used to be in the military and has a daughter, Kara, who is currently an Army major.

“The park, dedicated in his [Robert’s] memory, serves as a terrific honor for this patriotic young man,” Lecker said. “Millions of men and women have served to protect the freedom we’ve come to expect and enjoy.”

It’s a message that he, and everyone who took part in the ceremony, said they hoped is not forgotten.

“Each person who died during those confrontations [past wars] was a loved one by family and friends,” said Northampton Township Board of Supervisors Chairman George Komelasky. “You are doing an important thing by being here and making a difference.”

“Your presence here today is a symbol of what all Americans should do on Memorial Day,” he continued. “This is the land of the free because of the brave.”