Memorial Day Programs Return After Being Canceled Last Year By The Pandemic

(Spirit Lake)– Denny Perry01 (1)  After being canceled last year by the pandemic, Memorial Day programs returned to the area this year. In Spirit Lake, American Legion Commander Denny Perry gave the address in a program held on the east lawn of the Dickinson County Courthouse, calling on everyone to take some time to remember the sacrifices of not only those who died in fighting for our freedoms, but for their families as well…Denny Perry02 (1) 

“Most of us will never really truly understand the depths of despair unless we have experienced it. But we can always offer our support. We can wear a poppy; we can place flags and wreaths at their graves; we can donate to charities that provide for the families; we can look at the surviving brothers and sisters-in-arms and say thank you for your service.”

Perry added it’s important for us to also remember the devotion of those who made the ultimate sacrifice…Denny Perry03 (1) 

“It is the hearts of these men and women that truly matters. It is the devotion within that led them to sacrifice their lives for our country that we love. It is hard for us, the living, to equate ourselves with those who made such a sacrifice. The surviving loved ones do not have to look very far to find their heroes, their grandpas, their grandmas, their husbands, their wives, their sons, their daughters, their uncles, their aunts, their friends, all in their hearts.”

The roll call of the Avenue of Flags was read of those veterans who passed away in 2020 as well as up to now in 2021. More than 325 flags honoring those Dickinson county veterans who have passed were on display on the courthouse lawn this year, with nearly 100 more at the junction of Highways 9 and 71 at the Wal-Mart intersection. Five additional flags were on display in the tower at the Veterans Plaza on the east side of the Dickinson County Courthouse.