3 days ago
'Nobody is truly gone until they are forgotten': Residents remember the fallen on Memorial Day
May 27—VFW Post 447 Quarter Master Greg Sundholm encouraged those in attendance at the Memorial Day ceremony at Graceland Cemetery to remember those who have died in service of this country.
"Nobody is truly gone until they are forgotten," Sundholm said during his remarks.
Paraphrasing Gen. George S. Patton, Sundholm said it is wrong to mourn those who died — instead people should be thankful that they lived.
The ceremony at Graceland Cemetery was one of several slated throughout the area at various cemeteries.
The Honor Guard started the day at Lakewood Cemetery, followed by ceremonies at St. Theodore Catholic Cemetery, Hillcrest Cemetery and the Freeborn County veterans memorial. There was also the 53rd annual wreath drop ceremony on Fountain Lake by pilot Jim Hanson.
Sundholm, who said he signed up for the delayed enlistment program in 1987 as a high school junior because he wanted to work on airplanes, left for basic training in December 1988.
He said he was stationed to Strategic Air Command in upstate New York, where his primary job was nuclear deterrence.
He later served in the 416th Bomb Wing, where he worked on B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers, before Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and he was ultimately deployed.
He said when he left active duty, he joined the 934th Airlift Wing, looking for an aircraft job, but they didn't have one, so he then became a weapons instructor and armorer.
He medically retired in 1997.
'As I learned in my time in the military, we build on traditions of the past for the future," Sundholm said, noting that he learned many lessons and gained a connection to those who are honored on Memorial Day. He said exposure to them gives him a desire to be better than they are they before at the very least.
VFW Post 447 Cmdr. Bob Sharp read from an article he recently shared. He said in every society there are many callings — whether it be firefighters, teachers, caregivers or statesmen. But the path of the warrior is one of the most difficult.
"Throughout history, warriors have been called upon to protect their families, communities and countries — to fight for others' safety and freedom, knowing that this path of service may include their life and the suffering of their loved ones."
He said it requires courage, commitment and resilience and said no one desires peace more than the warriors and their families because they know the true cost of war.
"These warriors have never sought war, but they never flinched when their country called," he said. "It's through their actions that we enjoy the blessings of liberty, and through the tears of their families that we have the freedoms we all take for granted."
The ceremony also included a placing of the wreaths by representatives from area veterans organizations, as well as the Minnesota National Guard, Gold Star family Don and Deb Goodnature, and POW-MIA representative Al "Minnow" Brooks.
There were also several musical selections by Debbie Nordland, along with a military medley, as well as a volley fire by the American Legion Post 56 Honor Guard and taps by bugler Ed Nelson of American Legion Post 56.
