Time to remember price of freedom

Flowers laid solemnly on monuments.

The sudden crack of rifles.

And the mournful sound of taps.

A flag folded with three corners presented to a grieving family.

The price of freedom that someone paid for us.

I covered way too many military funerals and Memorial Day services in my 50 years as a reporter.

And each of them took a little piece of my soul.

It’s easy to forget the cost of war when you don’t see it.

But when you talk to the grieving families and watch them flinch when that rifle salute is fired, you know the price is high.

So high.

We’ve finally, in the past couple of decades, started to embrace those families and give their warriors a proper welcome home.

Something the families of those killed in Vietnam and many other wars didn’t get.

We’ve seen crowds at the airport waiting for the flag-draped coffins to come home.

Motorcycle escorts.

People standing on sidewalks along the route with hands over their hearts.

Big American flags.

Sharing the pain.

Fortunately, it’s been a few years since we’ve lost anybody in war.

But the men and women in our armed forces will always be in danger.

And we could lose another one at any time.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend.

A time to honor our dead from both war and peace.

Most years see 10 or more Memorial Day services across Daviess County.

And we remember those from here who have died in wars from the American Revolution to Afghanistan.

We sing patriotic songs, display the flag, fire rifle salutes, pray, listen to taps and generally recognize the price of freedom.

But families of the fallen continue to pay that price every day of their lives.

Missing someone who can never come home.

If you get a chance, take time to visit one of the Memorial Day services this weekend.

That’s a way to share in the price of freedom.