Memorial Day recalled as a day of remembrance, not recreation

Mayor Tom Rist introduced speaker Col. John Bird (seated at left).

On a day described as "sacred, with an almost visible presence of those who have gone before us," several hundred people turned out Monday at Mountain View Cemetery to honor the nation's war dead on Memorial Day.

A battalion of volunteers from the airbase stood in formation wearing their dress blues.

In the crowd attending the ceremonies were veterans wearing their old uniforms, and others with the medals they had earned in the service of their nation proudly displayed on their suit jackets. Families brought their young children to help them understand the special day.

In a community built on military veterans and retirees, the cemetery was a solid sea of small American flags marking the graves of those who had served their country.

Near the three memorial stones to veterans of the Civil War, the Elmore County dead from WWI, and the memorial for those who lost their lives in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, stood the honor guard rifle team and colors team from American Legion Post No. 26, standing solemnly as they prepared to render honors at the end of the ceremony with a 21-gun salute, followed by the haunting sounds of "Taps."

For a military town, in a nation at war, it was a special day.

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