By John Harlow
In his letter to VFW Posts across America, VFW National Commander Fritz Mihelcic asked the question, “How do we repay the men and women who have died defending the nation in uniform?” One answer is that we REMEMBER them. On this Memorial Day, many Americans will gather in community parks and squares for that very purpose – to REMEMBER those who went off to war and did not get back home. In Dillon, we will gather on May 30th at 11:00AM at Veterans Square for a program to honor and REMEMBER these veterans. During the ceremonies, prayers will be offered, flags will be raised and lowered, riles will be fired, taps will be played, remarks will be made, names will be read, and a deceased Dillon veteran will be recognized as a Distinguished Deceased Veteran. This is all being done to REMEMBER those who gave their lives to defend our way of life. As a military veteran, Memorial Day is important to me because it provides an opportunity for me to stand among my fellow Dillon citizens and to pause and be solemnly grateful for those Veterans who gave their lives. Their names are immortalized forever on a memorial wall at Dillon’s Veterans Square and these heroes will be long remembered after the rest of us have been forgotten. The Town of Latta has a Veterans Park and the Town of Lake View has broken ground on its Veterans Park with both honoring military veterans from those communities. Those veterans killed in action or who died of wounds are true heroes, and our community is forever grateful. On this 3-day Memorial Day weekend, join your fellow Americans on May 30th at Dillon’s Veterans Square to REMEMBER these Veterans. If you are unable to attend, please take a moment to REMEMBER the sacrifices these Veterans made for us. If you know a Gold Star family, let the family know that you REMEMBER their beloved veteran and the sacrifice he or she made for America.