Memorial Day means remembering the fallen who have served out country. Many folks use the occasion to also remember loved ones who have passed into the great beyond.

It is a free country and people are able to use the time on the final Monday of May as they so choose. Over the years, many times a portion of my Memorial Day was spent either in a cemetery or an American Legion hall.

There have also been cookouts and graduation parties, too. However observing the contributions made by loved ones on behalf of our country and remembering their service fills a special cranny in my psyche.

Roll call is especially poignant when the names of the past, many of them a part of so many family trees, are once again spoken to the assembled crowd. My uncles, cousins, friends and acquaintances once again waft through the memories of how my life was impacted by them.

I’m not alone. At the ceremony I would attend, the American Legion Auxillary President would be in charge of roll call. People involved in service starting from the early 20th century or even the late 19th century are at the beginning of the list all the way to those who have passed away more recently.

Imagine being the one to intone all those names, knowing your brother was also included among the dead. That’s quite a moment of love for country and family converging in just a few syllables.

All across this nation, the bugles and rifles will salute Memorial Day. Friends, that’s the sound of freedom. Let freedom ring.

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