Take a holiday pause to remember the veterans

More than 2,400 years ago, the Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to fallen soldiers that still applies to the more than 1 million Americans who have died in combat: “Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.”
Monday, May 26 is Memorial Day, an annual holiday dedicated to American service members who have died in the nation’s wars. Amid all the festivities and celebration, revelers should pause to remember that those who died in defense of this country and our predecessors are largely the reason we are able to enjoy a three-day weekend full of games and leisure.
During the Memorial Day parade in Gilroy last May, former President of the Gilroy Exchange Club—also a U.S. Army veteran—handed out 3,000 American flags. To him, they’re reminders that freedom has a price that’s often paid in blood.
“I think sometimes we forget how important it was that our servicemen stood up for what was right—no matter the cost—to secure what we have today,” Boggs previously told the Dispatch. “If it wasn’t for that, who knows where we would be.”
Even talking about the simple act of handing out a flag gets Boggs emotional.
“What is important—it’s really important to me—is we hand the flags to the kids because a lot of them need to know our heritage and where we came from to get to this point,” Boggs said. “It’s not easy.”
The Gilroy Memorial Day Parade Committee, along with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6309, will be hosting a solemn ceremony to remember the country’s fallen warriors beginning at 9 a.m. at Gavilan Hills Memorial Park on First Street. This simple ceremony includes a reading of the list of local residents who have served and died in combat, prayer and  laying of a wreath.
The annual Gilroy Memorial Day Parade begins at 11 a.m., starting first on Monterey Street, passing along 10th Street and ending at Gilroy High School.
Festivities in Christmas Hill Park are scheduled to take place between 12:30 and 4:30 p.m., but we should all take a page from Boggs. Remember the sacrifices of the service members whose actions allow us to celebrate our very freedom.