Memorial Day is one of the many holidays of the year where you just may find yourself face to face with rows upon rows of stones laden with coins, flowers, American Flags, and other memorabilia left behind by people who remember the names on the graves they visited by heart.

To a passerby, it may seem like an endless field covered in storyless, faded, and innocuous headstones – but to those who have lost someone close, who had done a great service to our country and its armed forces, these names are not just etched into the stones that mark the ground, but in the hearts of those that live on to remember them this holiday and every day.

Even in death, those stories don’t just fade away, for there are those who remember them fondly. In that way, they live forever in our hearts, but it is still natural to feel somber on a day like that.

For our honored, there is so much they gave to us for our freedoms and protections that we regularly enjoy in our homes and out in public. That which was given is not countable on any calculator or measureable on any scale – and is mostly taken for granted.

And loss does not always come at the same time.

With many giving a lifetime in the service of others and reaching the end at a ripe age, or those who fiercely fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice, we stand by them on Memorial Day to remember what they gave back to us in life and honor their earned peaceful rest. 

A number of Memorial Day services are being held throughout the county (see front page) and are available and open to the public. We strongly encourage those who can to show their gratitude to our brave fallen at even just one of these events. Join us in praise of those who came and went before us.

Even if you do not know the names by heart, we can all share a sense of love for those we mourn in the community together, and also just as importantly, celebrate the heroism that exuded from their very lives. Loss may be something that we must traverse, but that is the beauty in locking arms, so that we can thank our honorable deceased with one unified voice.