Memorial Day services across Berks County blended tradition, remembrance and reflection.
The Mohnton Memorial Day Parade may have been missing a couple of familiar pieces this year, but the 30‑minute procession still rolled through town Monday morning as it has for 66 years.
Believed to be the longest continually running Memorial Day parade in Berks County, the event stepped off shortly after 9 a.m., following a traditional service at the monument outside Earl Eshelman Memorial VFW Post 9045. A few groups canceled because of an uncertain forecast — most notably the Reading Buccaneers Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps — but the rain held off.
Even without the Bucs or any high school marching bands, the parade was far from quiet. The Pretzel City Jazz Band announced itself with “Has Anybody Seen My Gal” as it crested the hill toward the town square, followed by the Reading Philharmonic, which is approaching its 125th anniversary in 2028.
Tyler and Ashley Angstadt of Mohnton at the Mohnton Memorial Day parade with their children Ava, 7, Paisley, 4, and Blake, 1, Ashley completed a 12-hour shift at 7 a.m. with Boyertown Ambulance, allowing her just enough time to get to the parade. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The damp, gray morning kept some spectators home, but not the Swartz family. Three generations watched from the sidewalk outside Calvary United Methodist Church. Dennis and Annbeth Swartz of Brecknock Township were joined by their daughter, Heather Lewis, and 5‑year‑old grandson Owen. Owen’s brother, Wesley, 8, marched in the parade, helping Cub Scouts Pack 241 of Knauers carry an American flag that stretched nearly the width of the avenue.
“This is a tradition for our family,” Annbeth said as she held a plastic grocery bag filling quickly with candy tossed by groups such as the Lions Club and the Mifflin Baseball organization.
For many years, their daughter participated in both the Mohnton and Shillington Memorial Day parades, which run back to back, as a member of the Gov. Mifflin High School Marching Band.
Watching and participating in the 66th annual Mohnton Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 25, 2026, has become a tradition for the Lewis and Swartz families. Standing from left, are Dennis Swartz; Kyle and Heather Lewis; Keith and Cathy Lewis; and seated are Annbeth Swartz and Owen Lewis, 5. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Other entries included a float from Mohnton Community Vacation Bible School, featuring a giant birthday cake promoting its June 22–26 program at St. John’s Lutheran Church.
Mohnton and Shillington were among more than a half‑dozen Memorial Day parades held across Berks. Others took place in Boyertown, Bernville, Birdsboro, Reiffton (Exeter Township) and Wyomissing. Fleetwood’s parade was canceled due to weather.
Solemn morning in Reading
Beyond the parades, the Combined Veterans Council of Berks County held its annual Memorial Day services in Reading — a 9 a.m. ceremony at Veterans Grove in City Park followed by a 10:15 a.m. service at the Civil War Memorial in Charles Evans Cemetery.
Navy Chief Petty Officer Andrew Kropf delivers the Memorial Day speech during at the Civil War Memorial in Charles Evans Cemetery on Monday, May 25, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Navy Chief Petty Officer Andrew Kropf, a Persian Gulf combat veteran now serving as the advanced enlisted recruiter at Navy Recruiting Station Reading, was the guest speaker at both ceremonies.
Speaking among the headstones of Civil War soldiers, Kropf framed Memorial Day within the broader context of the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary, calling the two “inseparable moments — one reminding us why the nation exists, the other reminding us what it has cost to preserve it.”
He spoke of the country’s founding ideals, the contradictions that have tested them, and the generations who fought to defend and expand them.
“Memorial Day is not a day of celebration, but of remembrance,” he said. “A day that grounds our national story in the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in its defense.”
Richard Pawling of Gouglersville plays taps during Memorial Day services at the Civil War Memorial in Charles Evans Cemetery on Monday, May 25, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Kropf urged those gathered to honor fallen service members not only with ceremonies, but through civic engagement, unity and a commitment to the unfinished work of building “a nation that more fully reflects the ideals for which they gave their lives.”
Among those listening was Don Brobst, 75, of Reading, an Army veteran who served from 1970 to 1973. Standing near the Civil War monument —where one of the headstones honors his ancestor Benjamin Kurtz, and hearing the speaker’s words — carried deep personal meaning.
Don Brobst attends the annual Memorial Day services at the Civil War Memorial in Charles Evans Cemetery on Monday, May 25, 2026, in honor of his ancestor, Benjamin F. Kutz. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
“I’ve got family here, and they fought. They fought for our country,” he said. “As I heard him speak, I heard him bring back the souls of these soldiers that are here.”
Brobst said the message resonated because it acknowledged not only the Civil War dead, but all of the soldiers who fought.
“We owe our existence and our liberty and our freedoms to them without a doubt,” he said.
Mark Pflum of Wernersville, portraying Maj. L. Heber Smith of the 128th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment, reads the Gettysburg Address during Memorial Day services at the Civil War Memorial in Charles Evans Cemetery on Monday, May 25, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
He noted that a close friend has an ancestor listed on the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg — another reminder, he said, of how the sacrifices of earlier generations still shape the lives of their descendants.
Brobst wore a hat marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“It’s appropriate today,” he said with a smile.