Memorial Day 2020

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"...It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
--President Abraham Lincoln, the Gettysburg Address (November, 1863)

The words still ring true and carry a deep meaning to all Americans. Today is Memorial Day, when we recall our honored dead and celebrate the freedoms we enjoy because of their sacrifice. #MemorialDay2020 is especially poignant as the COVID-19 virus decimates the ranks of the survivors of WWII, the Korean War and Viet Nam.

Normally, our community marks Memorial Day with solemn ceremonies at local graveyards and with a Memorial Mile of mini-headstones listing the names of service members killed in the Iran/Iraq conflict. All of that is suspended this year as we come to grips as a nation and a world with a modern plague. But we can still take a moment to pause, and remember those who gave the "the last full measure of devotion."




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