Mt. Angel welcomed some special guests for its annual Memorial Day remembrance at Calvary Cemetery and the American Legion Hall.
Jo Kikken and sister-in-law Thecia Kikken came to Mt. Angel from the Margraten, Netherlands, where the Kikken family has adopted the grave of Army Lt. Charles F. Wagner, a Mt. Angel resident and B-17 pilot who died on mission over Staphorst, Netherlands, on March 6, 1944.
The Kikkens, including Jo’s late wife Ine, have honored Lt. Wagner’s memory with graveside flowers on his birth, death, and US and Dutch holidays. Wagner is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten.
Also participating in the observance were Lt. Wagner’s niece, Patricia Uffelman, and her husband John, of Portland.
The Calvary Cemetery service also featured an F-16 flyover from the Oregon Air National Guard, a reading of the Names of the Fallen, a POW/MIA Remembrance and music by the Marion County Citizens Band. About 350 people attended, said Jim Kosel, adjutant of American Legion Post 89.
The American Legion Hall hosted a reception following the cemetery rites. The Uffelman family was presented with a picture of Mt. Angel residents serving in World War II, and Patricia recognized two of her uncles in the photo, Kosel said.
