Dale-Time

Chuck Ritter died this week. I’m sure going to miss him. Chuck was a US Army veteran of the Korean Conflict where he served as a medic. But it was back here at home where he really served his country and his fellow veterans.

Chuck was a Chaplain for the Muskegon County Council of Veterans Honor Guard. It’s a group of veterans from all the local VFW and American Legion posts. Whenever a veteran in our area dies and the family wants a military service we call the County Council and they put together a crew to do the service. It usually includes a Commander, a Chaplain, a bugler, and a firing squad of 7 men. These guys show up at the funeral home or the cemetery, dressed in uniform and perform a wonderful ceremony. They don’t ask for anything in return. They do it out of honor and respect; over a hundred times a year.

Chuck has performed these honors for over 1000 veterans over the years. In the over 25 years I’ve been a funeral director I’ve seen Chuck “perform” at least 250 times. He was the best I’ve ever seen.

The ceremony is always the same. The words that are read have a great message. Most of the veterans read from a printed document. There are some that do a better job than the others, and that’s OK. Public speaking isn’t an easy thing for most people and these guys deserve respect just for doing it.

Well, Chuck didn’t read his part. He knew it by heart. He spoke it from his heart. He had the right pace and the right pauses and the right inflections. He meant every word of it. Whenever he was the chaplain I made sure I stopped what I was doing and listened to the whole service. It always put a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. It made me proud of my time as a naval officer and proud to be an American.

In 2009 I video taped a Veterans Service where Chuck was the Chaplain. He was 82 years old at the time. His eye sight was fading and his voice wasn’t as strong as it used to be. But I wanted to capture his performance because I knew his days were numbered. I’m glad I did. Here it is.

Rest in peace, Chuck. You served us all with honor.

I’m Dale Clock. Thanks for listening.