Warren Veterans Day event reaches back to Revolutionary War

Local News Warren Veterans Day event reaches back to Revolutionary War By ED RUNYAN November 12, 2026 4 min read Staff photo / R. Michael Semple U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran James Rapone of Champion portrays Private John Wheeler Leavitt during the Veterans Day program at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Warren. Trending WARREN -- Entering the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church to a Veterans Day crowd enjoying "Yankee Doodle Dandy” on Wednesday, Marine Corps veteran Jim Rapone of Champion came dressed in the clothing of an early 1800s militiaman. "I fought in the Revolutionary War," he said. "They called us the Minutemen. There were over 100,000 of us who laid down our plows and picked up our rifles to fight with George Washington's Continental Army,” Rapone said in character as Capt. John Wheeler Leavitt. The program for the event states that 230,000 Continental Army troops and 145,000 Militia from the Colonies fought in the Revolutionary War. It also states that 6,800 Patriots died in combat and 17,000 to 20,000 others died of various illnesses. "I had the opportunity to train and serve alongside one of your Trumbull County patriots. I want to share his story and some local history on this Veterans Day, as we welcome the end of our 250th Anniversary celebration,” Rapone said. Leavitt was one of the first settlers of Warren Township around 1800. Leavitt built a cabin on what is now Main Street, later turning it into an inn and tavern, as well as the meeting place for the first militia, Rapone said. "John became the leader of that local militia and was promoted to the rank of captain. The militia's mission was to provide public safety, protection and law enforcement for the surrounding communities. This was the early stages of today's National Guard," he said. “During that time, all able bodied men from 16 to 60 years old were required to become members of the militia.” Rapone said Trumbull County "has a long history of men and women who have served our country dating back to the Revolutionary War.” "Today this story is about a patriot who is residing in an unmarked grave in the first and oldest cemetery in the Western Reserve Territory (Pioneer Cemetery) located one half mile down the road behind the old Red Cross Building on Mahoning Avenue. There are 19 Revolutionary War veterans buried that cemetery," he said. Rapone said Leavitt came to Trumbull County from Connecticut after serving as 21-year-old private in the Connecticut Militia, which was involved in the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. Leavitt died in Warren in 1815. According to the Leavittsburg Heritage Association, Leavitt founded Leavittsburg in 1803. At the end of the dramatization, Rapone said his efforts to research the life of a Trumbull County Revolutionary War veteran had another purpose -- to create a gravestone in Pioneer Cemetery to honor the 19 Revolutionary War veterans buried there. Rapone said the members of the board of the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission have approved the idea. About $1,100 is needed to inscribe the names on a marker that is being donated. HONORING VETERANS Also during the ceremony, U.S. military veterans in attendance were recognized, including 104-year-old Jefferson "Jeff" Littell, a resident of Clearview Lantern in Champion, and a U.S. Navy veteran who served on the USS Montpelier during World War II. Warren Mayor Doug Franklin honored the sacrifices made by military veterans and said, "We pledge to stand by you, just as you stand by and for us. May God bless each and every one of our veterans." Also featured during the ceremony was the singing by the choir students at Warren G. Harding High School, the playing of patriotic songs by the brass section of the Cortland Community Band and the singing of the national anthem by Kristie Briggs and “God Bless America” by Loris Rolfe of the Cortland Community Band. Garey Watson played taps. Rapone's research indicated that more than 200 Revolutionary War veterans settled in communities such as Vienna, Hartford, Hubbard, Mesopotamia, Gustavus, Kinsman, Warren, Niles, Leavittsburg and Southington. "Ladies and gentlemen, America's history and our veterans are not only found at gravesites on major battlefields, national memorials or at state and national buildings," Rapone said in his closing remarks. "America's history and our veterans are also found on tombstones in old, forgotten cemeteries or places we pass by every day. "Let us be thankful for all of veterans who served 250years ago and those who are in attendance here this morning and finally for those service members who are standing watch around the globe." Rapone said, "A solider once said, ‘The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war no matter how justified shall be directly proportional as to how they perceived the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.’ That soldier was General George Washington."