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The War Memorial in downtown Elizabethton is dedicated to the men and women in Carter County who lost their lives during service to our country. Each year on Memorial Day, a ceremony is held during which the names are read of all those who have died in our nation’s wars since World War I.

Across the street, the Veterans Walkway is a commemorative monument dedicated to the men and women from Carter County who have served in America’s armed forces. Their names are engraved in each panel making up the walkway.

This week, volunteers from Captain Lynn H. Folsom Post No. 2166 and its auxiliary, as well as volunteers from American Legion Watauga Post No. 49 and several Elizabethton High School students who are part of the Navy National Defense Cadet Corps, worked to clean the War Memorial and Veterans Walkway in downtown Elizabethton. It was the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars National Day of Service, and Thursday’s day of service was the fourth year the local VFW post has participated.

It was a fitting service to those men who died in the service of our country. We owe it to the dead to remember what mattered to them and the ideals they held. Memorial Day is meant to be a solemn day of remembrance for those who served in our armed forces and never came home (as opposed to Veterans Day, which is meant to honor all those who served).

Another beautiful picture was that of the American flag flying this week from a crane located on the Broad Street Bridge, where work is being done to repair Hurricane Helene damage. The flag has fluttered in a breeze high above the bridge all week, reminding us what a blessed nation we live in and the freedoms we enjoy, purchased by the blood of fallen American soldiers.

For many, the three-day Memorial Day weekend is considered the unofficial beginning of summer. Of course, it spawns a bombardment of sales promotions. It is a holiday to be celebrated with picnics at the lake or in the backyard, the beginning of summer vacation seasons, baseball games, music festivals, etc.

However, Memorial Day is about memory. Author, humanist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel once said, “Without memory, there is no culture, no civilization, no society, no future.”

I suppose one could debate whether the ballgames, music festivals and picnics are disrespectful of the intent of the day, but there is no denying it is tone-deaf to the spirit of the day.

Elsewhere, parades and memorial services are planned. Wreaths will be laid at monuments and on the graves of veterans.

It is estimated that, since the flare-up at Lexington and Concord that ignited the American Revolution in 1775, about 1.325 million Americans have died in military service around the world.

But as a new day begins Monday, let us remember the forlorn places and battlefields where the sacrifices of Americans who gave the last full measure of devotion still echo – the battleground of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, the South Pacific islands, Normandy Beach and Western Europe, and on our own continent, Mexico, Canada and the states where the Civil War was fought.

We owe it to soldiers like Michael P. Oliver, a classmate of mine at Hampton High School, who died in Vietnam; Lt. Ben Franklin, a B-24 navigator who was shot down over Dunkirk in World War II; Jefferson D. Davis, who died in Afghanistan — his brother, Danny, is a former STAR employee; Joe McKeehan, who died while fighting in Korea; Ira J. Hardin, who was killed in World War II; and so many other Carter Countians who were killed fighting for America and freedom.

All gave some, and SOME GAVE ALL. Let us take a few moments to remember those who gave all and salute those who served but came home. They all stood for the red, white and blue … and when you think of them, think of all your liberties and recall: some gave all. (Words are from the song “Some Gave All” by Billy Ray Cyrus.)

Let this day be a day of remembrance as well as a day to celebrate with a trip to the lake or a barbecue in the backyard.