Memorial Day is a time to remember fallen warriors, honor soldiers and, all the while, pray for peace.

That was a common theme Sunday during the 44th annual Riverside-Rush Township Memorial Day Service at Riverside Park on Sunday.

"It is impossible for us to be grateful without journeying back in time to review the benefits we have gained by the sacrifices of others," the Rev. William Conrad said during the invocation for the event. "We grieve over the fact that war is an inescapable aspect of life and long for the Prince of Peace to come and rule over us. It is my prayer that whenever and wherever our nation engages in war that it will always be a righteous cause."

Asking God "to deliver our leaders from willful and prideful decisions," the Rev. Conrad also asked to "give our leaders the wisdom to divert from war when it can be avoided and give them wise hearts to bring to an end the wars that we are engaged in now."

Justin Noll, plant manager of Cherokee Pharmaceuticals in Riverside and a retired Navy lieutenant, was the main speaker at the service.

"As a Navy veteran, I appreciate the opportunity to stand up and to say thank you to our fellow veterans, those who are here with us to day and those who did not make it to today," he said.

The rolls of the honored dead are growing, Noll said.

"Since the founding of our country, there have been approximately 20 wars and 30 minor wars or military operations," Noll said. He sited many conflicts whose names are now remembered mostly in history books.

"One of the complaints you hear over the years is that people have been forgetting the meaning of Memorial Day," he said. "However, with new wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, more families are understanding the horror of losing a son, a daughter, a father or a mother, brother, a sister, husband or wife. But personally, I look forward to a day when nobody remembers Memorial Day at all, a day in the distant future when mankind has found a better way to resolve disputes and control the aberrant behavior of a few radical tyrants. ...

"But until that day, let us continue to remember, let us continue to thank those who sacrifice their lives so that we may enjoy our lives."

Meanwhile Dale Erb, mayor of Riverside, the emcee of the event, urged his fellow veterans to think ahead to their own memorial services.

"When our time comes, do you ever think you would kind of like to have a military funeral?" he asked a crowd made up of many veterans. "What if I were to tell you that no, you can't?"

Because there is no nearby military facility, volunteers are needed to give full military honors at funerals of veterans.

He then asked those veterans to volunteer for the community color guard, which has been made up of the same men, most who served in World War II and Korea, for many years.