05/28/2026
While a roll call of all of the veterans from St. Marys who were killed in action or died in the line of service is given annually during the community’s Memorial Day Program, for the past several years an effort has also been underway to highlight at least one of those individuals.
“We hear these names annually,” stated Master of Ceremonies Stephen Bagley following Monday’s roll call. “We’ve heard them dozens of times. Yet we know almost nothing about their lives, their service, or their sacrifice. They’re names. We hear them every year. Our mission is to change that.”
St. Marys Servicemen’s Detail Maps Custodian Steve Wingard is in charge of researching the veterans and preparing the biography shared during the Memorial Day Program. This year, Wingard highlighted Paul Geyer.
According to Wingard, Paul Richard Geyer was born in St. Marys on Dec. 12, 1917. Prior to World War II, Geyer had a normal life in the community. He was married, the father to a daughter, and was employed in a local factory. On Sept.14, 1942, Geyer signed up for service in the U.S. Merchant Marine.
See the May 28 edition of The Daily Press for more details.
