Honoring those who preserved our way of life

Cemeteries are a peaceful place. This year's mild spring and weather forecast, combined with the loving care of maintenance crews and families, promise to make them especially beautiful for Monday's observance.

Most of the graves mark the final resting place of people who have lived long, productive lives, taking their last breaths only after having passed their love and wisdom on to the next generation. Children, grandchildren and friends will see to it that their graves are decorated as a tribute to the lives they have lived.

For far too many, however, those graves were occupied much too soon, by service people in the prime of life, called away by duty and robbed of a lifetime of experiences by determined enemies or the mundane hazards of life in the service.

It is for these we observe Memorial Day, for these we take time out to visit their graves and reflect on the sacrifices they made on our behalf.

From the earliest frontier soldiers and Civil War veterans, to the latest lives sacrificed in prosecution of the War on Terrorism, there is no shortage of men, and women, who have made the ultimate sacrifice to maintain a way of life for their brothers, sisters, parents, children and friends.

From the Spanish American War and World Wars I and II, through the less clear-cut Asian battles in Korea and Vietnam, hometown heroes from all branches of the service have returned home in flag-draped coffins to demand our tribute each Memorial Day and all of the days in between.

Tragically, there's a seemingly unending supply that promises to continue as long as man demonstrates his willingness to impose injustice on others.

Memorial Day is our chance to honor those who refused to allow that to happen.