They’re not gone: As long as we remember their lives, sacrifices

Mike Ledford, a veteran of the Marine Corps and trustee for Post 108, salutes after placing a wreath on a cross representing a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Mike Ledford, a veteran of the Marine Corps and trustee for Post 108, salutes after placing a wreath on a cross representing a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Beneath a pristine blanket of snow, surrounded by frozen earth, they slumber.

Though they served at different times, in different places and in different ways, they are all responsible for the liberty, peace and security Americans enjoy today.

Some have been gone for decades. Others, for months.

But we who still live and breathe are their legacy. We are the flesh-and-blood testament to their service, sacrifices and sense of duty.

To honor deceased military veterans, folks gathered Saturday at Ridgelawn Memorial Cemetery in Oxford Village for the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony.

A total of 203 veterans are buried there. Bearing shovels and brooms, scouts, veterans and others cleared off as many graves as possible, so evergreen wreaths could be laid as a remembrance.

About half were done Saturday. The rest will receive wreaths later this month when time and weather permits.

“The freedoms we enjoy today did not come without a price,” said Vietnam veteran Rick Moorhead, commander of American Legion Post 108, during the ceremony.

“Lying here before us, and in cemeteries throughout the nation, are men and women who have given their lives so that we can live in freedom.”

 

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