Twenty-one rifle shots rang into the blue skies above Brush Creek Cemetery Sunday morning as a dozen Manor American Legion members paid tribute to military veterans buried at the Hempfield site.
Manor American Legion Post 472 and the Norwin Historical Society operate a collective honor guard, said Carl Huszar, post historian and historical society president. In addition to Brush Creek, the group travels to two other cemeteries — the Penn Lincoln and Brush Creek Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church cemeteries in North Huntingdon — and the Manor War Memorial every Memorial Day weekend to honor local veterans.
About 2,000 headstones at Brush Creek Cemetery in Hempfield, marked with American flags, belong to military veterans, Huszar said.
The Rev. Diane Wiley is pastor of the Brush Creek Salem United Church of Christ, located next to the cemetery. She gave brief remarks to the 24 military veterans and community members partaking in the ceremony.
“We can only say that we stand with you,” said Wiley, addressing the veterans. “You are warriors today, just the way you were before, because we know by your choices what it is that you believe.”
Rev. Diane Wiley, pastor of Brush Creek Salem United Church of Christ, says a prayer during a Memorial Day ceremony at Brush Creek Cemetery in Hempfield on Sunday. | @TribLIVE@TribWestmoreCopic.twitter.com/RD6GcGgKhr
— Quincey Reese (@QuinceyReese) May 24, 2026
Wiley gave a prayer for living and deceased military members and their families.
“We stand here in this beautiful place, grateful for all who have come to this event,” she said, a faint wind rustling the branches of green trees lining the cemetery driveway. “We ask that you (God) would be with each one, that you would bless them, that they would know that you are with them, no matter what they must endure.”
The Manor American Legion long operated an honor guard on its own, Huszar said, but it dissolved for a number of years. The legion joined alongside the historical society to revive the Memorial Day tradition around 2017, he said.
“The three volleys of the 21-gun salute represent duty, honor and country. That encapsulates all of the efforts of these veterans that were buried here,” he said, looking out at the weathered headstones lining the lush, grassy hillside.
“When they took that step forward, took the oath — wherever they were deployed, whatever they did — duty, honor and country is what motivated them to serve the military.”
