Once a year, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee brings people together at the Coral Gables cemetery.
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Veterans are sharing their stories of service this Memorial Day and reflecting on the direction of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
Take a moment to honor the sacrifice many have made that allows you to have so much. But she is also remembering her husband, Edward Thomas Evans, a Vietnam vet who was exposed to Agent Orange and died of brain cancer.
Memorial Day has come to signify the start of summer for many Americans and is often celebrated with cookouts, family get-togethers, and pool parties.
“I hope they take away that the people who died paid the ultimate sacrifice-their lives, and they did it in the service of their country”, he said. “He was a prisoner of war during World War II”.
Monday marked the inaugural Memorial Day service at the Northeast Louisiana Veteran’s Cemetery in Rayville.
“Listening to the names being recited, I think, ‘My goodness, I went to school with them and he was an ornery son of gun and now he’s a hero, ‘” said Twila White, who passed out paper poppy flowers to those in attendance.
Memorial Day originated as “Decoration Day” in 1868 following the Civil War when the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, established the day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers.
That bond is especially close on Memorial Day. It’s actually been an official national holiday for over 40 years aimed at remembering those who served in the armed forces.
Over the years, the observance widened in scope to include all American casualties of war.
On this Memorial Day, many gathered to remember friends and loved ones. THere will also be a collection for the Veterans Food Bank. “I have 23 from my company that didn’t come home, so you honor those, as well as all the other veterans that are here”, Gardner says.
“Words are not enough to repay the debt we owe to these men and women”, he said.
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The Noank Memorial Day Parade has been canceled because of inclement weather.
