About 80 people gathered at the Clearwater American Legion Hall Monday on a rainy, gloomy morning to honor the men and women who gave their lives for this country.

 

The ceremony followed the traditional Memorial Day procession of Clearwater and Clear Lake Color Guard as they made their rounds to stop at each of the local cemeteries, where they gave the fallen service men and women buried there a 21-gun salute.

 

The ceremony began with a prayer by Legion Chaplain Wally Westerberg before the crowd heard a musical interlude by three former servicemen. Steve Buley (Navy), John Jordan (Air Force) and Rick Stang (Marine Corps) sang, “I have a Dream,” “Brothers Are We” and “God Bless the USA.”

 

Then Legion Commander Ron Lashinski reminded everyone of the real meaning of Memorial Day.

 

“This country set aside a day to remember the men and women who have given the greatest gift of all - they sacrificed their lives for this country. It is a day of celebration for those like the men in the pictures on the back wall of this room, and all the men and women who are buried in far away lands. It’s not all about shopping for cars, or mattresses or hot tubs, or all the various things that it’s turned into."

 

“I want to thank each and every one of you for taking time out this weekend to spend some time thinking about that.”

 

Lashinski introduced guest speaker Melissa Wiese, First Vice of the Legion and President of Legion Auxiliary.

 

She opened her address with a statistic - 1,354,664, the number of lives to date that have been given during wartime for protect our freedom.

 

“It is on this day that we memorialize those souls who are with the Heavenly Father. Memorial Day has become a symbol for our country, a symbol of a new season, of family and friends. But let us not forget those who have gone before us so that we may be free.”

 

Wiese spoke about the history of Memorial Day, which had its origins shortly after the Civil War.

 

“Decoration day was first observed May 30. 1868. This celebration commemorated the sacrifices of the Civil War soldier. It was a day designated for the honor and the decorating of the graves of the fallen soldiers.

 

“As the years went by and the conflicts ravaged our nation, Decoration became known as Memorial Day, a day to remember all military personnel who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. 

 

It wasn’t until 1968 that congress passed the Uniform Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday of May. It is on this day that we as a nation come together to honor the significant sacrifice of those families who walk the rows upon rows of graves to honor their loved ones.”

 

Wiese spoke about how the bright red poppy became a symbol of the blood spilled by the soldiers who died in battle. The poppy was memorialized by the poem, In Flanders Fields, published in 1915. The poppy now represents the ultimate sacrifice of those lost in war. Many family members of fallen soldiers wear a poppy on Memorial Day. They can be seen adorning the graves in cemeteries across the nation. Wiese spoke of something else she felt was symbolic that occurred to her earlier that morning.

 

“Today as we were paying tribute at the cemeteries, I couldn’t help but think of how the raindrops felt as though they were tears from heaven. 

 

“They were tears that were washing over us to forget the pain of the loss; tears to cleanse our souls and tears to honor those who gave their  lives so that we may be here on this day.

 

Tears to remind us to never forget.”