Tuesday, May 25, 2021
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Goshen (574) 534-2591
Vol. 49 No. 7
134 S. Main, Goshen, Indiana 46526
/$%25 2) +2125 ³ Rick Hollar, former commander of American Legion Post 154 in Nappanee, inspects some of the post÷s inventory of grave markers and some of the 700 ‡ags the post receives every year to place on veterans÷graves at three cemeteries in and around Nappanee to commemorate fallen heroes for Memorial Day. Photo by Ray Balogh.
No expiration date for honoring fallen heroes %\ 5$< %$/2*+ 6WDII :ULWHU They “gave their last full measure of devotion” in wars and conflicts across the centuries, and veterans groups around the nation are determined to perpetuate the respect and honor they deserve this Memorial Day. The living faithful place no expiration date on the annual ritual of planting or replacing flags and markers on veterans’ graves. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude,” said former U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida. The flags are a poignant and fitting reminder that, as an anonymous author wrote, “our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with
the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” Many communities include commemoration of fallen firefighters and law enforcement officers. “We try to put out the flags a few days before Memorial Day,” said Gary Martz, former commander of American Legion Post 154 in Nappanee. “The county, through the Veterans Administration, sends us 700 flags every year. We leave them up until Veterans Day.” Members of the post also replace markers that have been damaged or stolen, often for scrap value, he said. The post keeps an inventory of warspecific markers and even has a supply of Civil War markers. “At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26, we’ll take inventory and replace the markers that
are damaged or gone,” said Martz. “Sometimes the Boy Scouts will volunteer to help. We go to three cemeteries, Union Center, South Union and the cemetery at the Hepton church. The whole process takes three to four hours.” There are several ways individuals, families and businesses can honor veterans this Memorial Day: • Volunteer to lay flowers or plant flags at veterans’ graves. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, a time to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers. • Donate to a local veterans organization to defray the costs of the flags and grave markers. • Sponsor a thank-you wreath or bouquet through the Memorial Day Foundation. For information, visit
www.memorialdayfoundation.org. • Help financially and emotionally support bereaved spouses and children of the fallen through www.uso.org or www.taps.org. • Write a thank-you letter to a veteran, personally thank a veteran or post a tribute to a fallen hero on social media. • Observe one minute of silence and reflection during the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time Memorial Day, Monday, May 31. • Fly the American flag according to the rules of proper etiquette found at www.military.com. • Visit a military memorial, museum or monument. • Wear a red poppy, the widely recognized symbol for soldiers who have died in
conflict, taken from the World War I poem, “In Flanders Field,” by Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae. • Volunteer time at a local veteran’s organization, VA hospital, USO center or homeless shelter. • Attend a religious service to pray for the souls of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, for their family members, for our nation’s future and for peace throughout the world. For more information, call the following American Legion posts in Elkhart County: • Bristol, (574) 848-4002 • Middlebury, (574) 8255121 • Millersburg, (574) 6423511 • Nappanee, (574) 7737686 • Wakarusa, (574) 8622965