Today, we pause to pay tribute to the fallen heroes who have safeguarded our freedom and preserved the values we hold dear.

Let us remember that Memorial Day is not only a time for barbecues and get-togethers but also a solemn occasion to reflect on the sacrifices of our servicemen and servicewomen. It is an opportunity to express our profound appreciation to the families who have endured the loss of their loved ones and share in their grief.

Amen , My father was and is a WW II vet and he shared many stories with me. Not all were pleasant but, he was a true American. My nephew is a Desert Storm vet. and I honor all that served to make this country what it is. Happy Memorial to all of you.

Thanks to those who sacrificed all and those who served or are serving.
It was a very moving service in Grand Marais Minnesota this morning.

My FIL was a WWII and Korea veteran, my wife lost her uncle in the Italian theatre in WWII. My father and many relatives are also vets.

adam: "
Today, we pause to pay tribute to the fallen heroes who have safeguarded our freedom and preserved the values we hold dear.

Let us remember that Memorial Day is not only a time for barbecues and get-togethers but also a solemn occasion to reflect on the sacrifices of our servicemen and servicewomen. It is an opportunity to express our profound appreciation to the families who have endured the loss of their loved ones and share in their grief."

Well said.

Remember, as well, those who have served who lost their friends and comrades in their duty. Too many suffer from the effects of trauma and poverty. Please, if you can, find an organization that assists veterans after their service.

They gave so much, and I look around on memorial day and it seems like so few are giving back or honoring them. We can do better.

Amen !
So many gave all for us.
God bless them.

I (US Navy vet) usually attend Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies with a BIL (Marine Corp vet). It always seems to be mostly veterans honoring other veterans at these ceremonies.

As a Korean War Veteran, I have always been ashamed at how this nation treated the Vietnam Veterans.

Pinetree: "They gave so much, and I look around on memorial day and it seems like so few are giving back or honoring them. We can do better."

I go every year to a local ceremony. I too am disappointed and embarrassed that hardly anyone shows up. You are absolutely correct .. We can do better.

Vets deserve more than a day of remembrance. Give them a month and make it a month of serving those who served.

Because I am "elderly", my memories of this day hearken back to olden times when it was called "Decoration Day." We went and put flowers on the graves of our loved ones, and then on the actual day (always May 31st) there was a parade in our small Michigan town. A real parade led by a color guard, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in uniform, the high school band, politicians, kids on bikes, fire trucks, etc. We were fortunate that our home was on a corner on the parade route, so my mother's extended family always came to our house (some of them from some distance away) and we would have a potluck picnic lunch and watch the parade go by, then would all walk to the cemetery, which was just a block away, for the ceremony.

Typical small-town memorial ceremony. Because that is what the day is for--remembering those who died to secure our freedoms. It isn't "Veteran's Day"; that is a day in November with a totally different meaning and vibe. This was to remember the fallen of all of the wars. Those who didn't come home. The flag began at half-staff, and the boy scouts marched in formation carrying wreaths. One by one the wreaths were laid on crosses for each of the wars. I had a great-uncle who was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, and two uncles and a father who served in the military during World War II, but they all came back, so they weren't being honored. They were just there remembering those who DIDN'T come back and respecting their memory. One of the local ministers gave an invocation. A high-school student was always chosen to recite (notice I didn't say "read") the Gettysburg Address at the ceremony, and this was a highlight. There was usually a local speaker. Then the band would play a number, something like "Stars and Stripes Forever", and finally there would be a 21-gun salute, and two trumpeters sounded "Taps" in different locations, for an echo effect. Then someone would raise the flag to full staff and we would be on our way.

I have just described what I believe was a common "Decoration Day" celebration in small-town America in the 1950's.

As the years passed situations changed. In the early 60's very few of the cousins still came to see the parade, and the parade got smaller. In 1963 my parents moved across town, so we would just go to the cemetery for the ceremony, but we still were there. By then my uncles were becoming more of the "senior" members of the American Legion, so often one of them was the one who lowered and raised the flag. But it was a family tradition to be there, and we always were. It was followed by a two-block walk to the Methodist Church for a delicious chicken barbecue lunch.

In the decades since, my husband and I have still returned to White Pigeon often on Memorial Day to meet my parents for the ceremony and the chicken dinner. And when they were gone, to still attend the ceremony and go to the chicken dinner. My uncles, one by one, passed away and younger Legionnaires carried the flags, shot the 21-gun salute, and did the honors at the flagpole. But it always still happened. The Boy Scouts put the wreaths on the crosses, and we all took a moment to honor the ones who never came back. The high school band was smaller and didn't play nearly as well, the student read the Gettysburg address instead of reciting it from memory, the crowd that used to number in the hundreds dwindled into 65 or so, but it still went on. We attended in 2019 and we still felt that feeling of tradition and reverence.

Then came COVID.

We didn't get back until this year. There was no ceremony. The local American Legion Hall is now a party venue, and the Legion Post in the town has closed due to the members "aging out" or losing interest. Younger veterans don't seem to want to keep these traditions going. The flag was at half-staff and the crosses were there, but there were no wreaths, and there was no "Taps". I was disappointed. The chicken BBQ at the Methodist church was now carry-out only and after we got our meals we realized there was nowhere to sit, so we went to the local park to find a picnic table.

We will need to find another tradition for Memorial Day. On Sunday evening we watched the National Concert and it had some fine tributes to the ones who perished in all of our country's wars. It was interesting and moving. Because Spartan1 is a VietNam Vet, I paid more attention to that part of it, but it was all well done IMHO. But I confess, as a person who doesn't usually spend a lot of time mourning the loss of the old traditions, I did some extra grieving on Memorial Day of 2023.

The photos are from 2010.

An interesting attendee at the local Veteran’s Day ceremony in Kenosha WI is Medal of Honor recipient Gary Wetzel, of South Milwaukee, a Vietnam War veteran. Again, a veteran honoring other vets.