Memorial Day will soon be here. It is a day of remembering and honoring those that are no longer with us as we visit cemeteries and memorial statues. Flowers and flags are left at grave sites of soldiers and veterans who died, and at the grave sites of loved ones including family members, and friends we still think of and remember. Fond memories as a youngster, of my parents taking my sisters and me to visit cemeteries where some of our ancestors were buried. As we all stood looking at each grave stone, my father would tell us what he remembered or was told about each of his ancestors. We’d listen with interest, and to this day when this cemetery is visited, I find myself walking to the same grave stones my father and his daughters visited years before. My father’s memories have remained with me.
For years, my father, his father, his brothers and veteran friends all took part in the American Legion group at the local Memorial Service. They would march in, dressed in their legion caps and jackets. Some carried rifles and some were color guards. All honoring the veterans and soldiers that served their country and died. For myself and others, it stirs the patriotic hearts. In the past few years, an Avenue of Flags proudly lines up and down the driveways of the local cemetery. Each American Flag honors a local veteran that is no longer on this earth. Today, some of these American Flags fly honoring my father, his father and his brothers, and some of their veteran friends. I am proud of them and all they stood for, loving and serving their country.
It’s time to get out your American Flag and fly it proudly from a flag pole or on a porch column at your home. There may be a family dinner or picnic planned and carried out on Memorial Day where red, white and blue colors are included in dinnerware and decorations. Take the time to remember the true reason for Memorial Day and pass it on to the next generation!
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