Nearly 100 people took an hour out of their Memorial Day to honor members of the armed forces who died during battle.
Sponsored by Kingswood United
Methodist Church, the ceremony was held at Knopf Cemetery. The cemetery is
operated by the Church.
The program included comments by
Rev. James Preston, lead pastor at Kingswood, and by Lt. Jamieson Prevoznak,
chaplain at Great Lakes Naval Station. Also participating were members of Boy
Scout Troop 401 which is sponsored by Kingswood. The event also included
replacing the flag at Knopf Cemetery and a flag retirement ceremony, all done
by members of Troop 401.
In addition to remembering those who
have fallen during combat, Rev. Preston remembered the 21 victims of the school
shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The overall focus, however, was on
the meaning of Memorial Day, started 1868 as a way to remember troops that died
during the Civil War, following an order by John Logan
then commander in chief of the Army.
In his remarks, Lt. Prevoznak said that
while Memorial Day weekend signifies the start of the summer with a focus on
family fun and sales, he urged attendees to overlook the primary meeting of the
holiday. “The spirit (of the holiday) needs to be renewed and refreshed,” he
said.
“While it is a great day to go to
the beach and have a barbecue, it’s because of all the brave souls who paid the
ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “We can’t let the souls of those who went before
us go unforgotten.”