Editorial: Celebrate Memorial Day by making a difference locally

Memorial Day weekend is often a time for families to take a break from the monotony of everyday life, to pack into their cars, RVs and trailers for an extended weekend of camping, or maybe just staying at home for a weekend of relaxing and barbequing with friends and neighbors.

According to a study from Wallethub, about 60% of Americans planned to barbecue over Memorial Day weekend in 2018, the second largest barbequing holiday behind only the Fourth of July (73%). Some 41.5 million Americans planned to travel over Memorial Day weekend last year, nearly 13% of the country’s population. And over 40% of Americans said they were “likely” to take advantage of Memorial Day deals.

With the commercialization of Memorial Day, it can be easy for some to forget why they’re getting a day off of work or school. I know there are times when I did as I was growing up.

Ultimately, Memorial Day—which falls on May 27 this year—is a day of remembrance for members of the military who have fallen in the line of duty for this country.

It could be for the 2,351 American soldiers who have died in the War in Afghanistan (2001-present), or for the 4,412 soldiers who fell in the Iraq War (2003-15), or for the 383 soldiers who fell in the Gulf War (1990-91), or for the 58,220 soldiers who died in the Vietnam War (1955-75), or for the 36,574 soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Korean War (1950-53), or for the 291,557 soldiers who gave their lives in World War II (1939-45), or for the 53,402 soldiers who fell in the line of duty during World War I (1914-18). And it could even be for the 4,435 soldiers who died in this country’s first conflict, the Revolutionary War (1775-83).

On the national level, several events are held to honor the sacrifice of soldiers who fell in the line of duty. For about 60 years running, soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the some 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The soldiers then patrol the cemetery 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.

On Memorial Day, the American Veterans Center & World War II Veterans Committee will be hosting the National Memorial Day Parade along Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. The parade is a moving timeline of American military history and salutes those who have served and sacrificed their lives in service of the United States.

Since 1998, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America have placed a candle at each of the more than 15,000 gravesites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia on the Saturday before Memorial Day.

On a local level, one of the best ways to acknowledge the sacrifices these individuals have made so we as a country can continue to try and form a more perfect Union is by simply visiting one of the several cemeteries in eastern Adams County and silently paying your respects.

Another way of honoring the memory of these soldiers is by helping to keep their resting place in respectable conditions. At the Salem Cemetery near Ralston, for example, a project to improve the site began in 2004.

Some of the repairs made thanks to donations received by descendants of those buried at the cemetery included replacing the old fence with a vinyl picket fence, building an arch-gated entrance, and installing a plaque telling the history of the cemetery. Work was completed in early 2005, with a special dedication ceremony being held on May 30—Memorial Day. Over 50 people attended the service, and some 40 families contributed funds and labor to helping complete the project.

For those wondering what else they can do to help pay their respects to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, ensuring that their resting place remains tidy and well-kept for years and generations to come is one way of doing so.