Tinsmill group plans Veterans Day flag ceremony

The Tinsmill Citizens Association will hold a flag-raising ceremony at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 316 Third Avenue in Bell Township. The event marks the first step in a long-planned memorial for the community’s World War II veterans.

Ray Machulsky, a Salem resident and current association president, has pushed for this project for several years. He previously sought approval from association leadership to use a small, unused plot of land at the corner of Third Avenue and Route 981. Despite support from members, earlier leaders did not act on the proposal.

Tensions peaked during a December 2025 meeting when officers attempted to end the session before the memorial could be discussed. The disagreement led to the resignation of the former president. Machulsky won the presidency in elections held last spring.

“We’re trying to build back the association’s credibility and we have more people coming to attend meetings,” Machulsky said. The association is now moving forward with funding secured from CNX, a Canonsburg-based natural gas company that agreed to pay for a flagpole.

The immediate plan involves installing the flagpole and displaying banners with the names of Tinsmill’s World War II veterans. Machulsky envisions a small memorial park at the site. He also intends to add a small arch at the entrance, which would read “Haven of Heroes.”

The flag to be raised on the pole previously hung over the U.S. Capitol Building. Machulsky cited a 1946 photograph of returning veterans marching from the local area to the cemetery as inspiration for the memorial. The community lost only one soldier from that group.

“The only guy who didn’t come back was Joe Galo, and you can bet when all those boys were marching, they had Joe Galo on their minds,” Machulsky said. He noted that his uncle, Curly, and Joseph Franzi, who witnessed the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri, appear in that 1946 image. The group aims to honor all the local veterans.