Elgin area residents and others with ties to the community remembered fallen heroes and family at Memorial Day services.
Park and West Cedar Valley/St. Boniface cemeteries hosted Memorial Day services Monday.
Members of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and their auxiliaries were present at both cemeteries, adorned with flowers and flags, to honor the men and women who served the country in times of peace and war.
Giving the Memorial Day address at Park Cemetery was Rev. Janet Davis of Park Congregational Church.
“Eleven score and 19 years ago our mothers and fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal.
“I offer these words with apologies to President Abraham Lincoln. We have come to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we may gather here freely and safely. Since 1776 men and women went off to war but returned to their final resting places from far too many wars and conflicts, skirmishes and uprisings.
“While this is not the ground on which these people died – that ground was consecrated by their blood, as it was at Gettysburg – this ground is hallowed – sacred ground – made so by each person buried here, whether military or civilian. We have come to honor especially fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who arrive at their final resting places much too soon. Their lifespans are measured in decades, rather than scores, their potentials and plans are ended, their loved ones left to mourn.
For the complete story, see the print edition of The Elgin Review
