I love my hometown! I come back quite often to visit family and friends, eat at the restaurants and to enjoy some down time in Small-Town USA. I come “home” almost every holiday to be with the family. Eureka, KS…….. The place I call home.
This is the first time I have been home over Memorial Day that I was left sick to my stomach and sad. While I also enjoy a good BBQ with the family, a long weekend to camp/fish and share a cold beer with my friends at the local watering hole or at the lake. All that joy comes at a cost.
I am constantly reminded of all the freedoms that I enjoy and how they were not just given to me without a fight. There were men and women that gave all they had just so we can have all we have and enjoy the simple life, be with our loved ones and build a life worth remembering.
I have lots of family that are buried in the Greenwood Cemetery, even a couple that were in the United States Military. Two of my family members have flags that used to be hung every year. Well not this year……. This year out of 500+ flags that should be put out, there was only 50…… less than 10% of our fallen hometown heroes were honored with the display of their flags and tags. This is where it saddens me.
When I mentioned it to someone very close and dear to my heart, their response was full of excuses…. Political ones at that. If you are willing to let Politics keep you from honoring our fallen heroes, then you have already let them win. That is where I must have been mistaken. I love my hometown…… it is filled with love, pride, patriotic people and full of people that either are or were 4Her’s. Let me remind you of the pledge: “I pledge ... My Head to clearer thinking, My Heart to greater loyalty, My Hands to larger service and My Health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world.” To make the best better. Memorial Day is a good time to remember that pledge.
I remember when there were probably 60+ people volunteering, walking side by side with a lot of our hometown heroes to put the flags and tags out, the Boy Scouts would put the Tombstone flags out the night before, walking side by side with the same heroes. What happened? Where has all our Small-Town USA pride gone? I know a lot of people that served in our military, they have told me how awesome it is that our hometown celebrates like we do. This is not a tradition that I am ready to watch die!
I know that weather forecasting has a lot to do with planning and who really wants to wake up early if it is raining, I know I don’t. With that said, in the last 15 years I have been volunteering (Thank you Becky Lindamood and Julie Denner for introducing me to this tradition), it has rained out 2 times that I can remember and I believe, it is totally worth taking the chance to lose sleep for.
This goes out to you….. the Heroes that are trying to keep this tradition alive (Our Small-Town Heroes), I want you to know something! “YOU ARE NOT ALONE!” If I have it my way next year, you will have your volunteers needed to put all 500+ flags out.
If you want to join me in helping pass the torch, you know how to reach me. It is time for us to take the torch and prepare it for the next generation, continue the tradition that was started long before us.
From the bottom of my heart, “I WILL NOT LET THEM BE FORGOTTEN!” Your Fellow Eurekan! Matthew Denner
