On Memorial Day Dan and I headed to Ohio to spend the afternoon with his extended family. We went to the small town of South Salem for the parade that everyone marches in (around 1 block) and then everyone goes into the cemetery to place flowers on all the graves of the soldiers.
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| View of Graveyard |
After everyone has placed flowers we all gathered for a small ceremony to hear speakers, listen to readings, and recite the pledge of allegiance. They place a wreath in the cemetery and do a gun salute and take a moment to honor the dead. It was very moving and I was glad we got to go, I haven't been to a service on Memorial Day before because we are usually coming home from camping. We then spent time at Dan's Aunt house and I had a chance to chat with some of his family before the Strawberry social at a church in town. We finished the day by stopping in a neighboring town to place a wreath on his other Grandfather's grave, who also is a WWII vet.
The hard part of the day was realizing it was a year ago that I spoke to my Grandfather for the last time. I was having a really hard time with it and really missing him. I can't believe it has been a year and remember how hard this last year has been. But I am glad we went and I had a chance to see how Dan's family celebrates Memorial Day.
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