Thursday, March 28, 2024
39.0°F

There is no excuse for overlooking veterans

| June 4, 2020 1:00 AM

It was Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. Do you know what Memorial Day means? It does not mean, “Oh, I get a day off” or “no school” or “let’s go have fun.” It is a day to observe the men and women who fought for our country and put flags by each and every one of our veterans’ graves.

I cannot believe how a small town like Sandpoint, Idaho, cannot even make sure that every veteran has a flag by their grave. I don’t want to hear about the outbreak of the coronavirus or we could not find someone to do it. This has been happening for quite sometime. Year after year but no one has said anything. Just let it pass … big deal they are gone … who cares is the attitude I am getting from this.

I remember the first time my mom went up on Memorial Day And there was no flag on my dad’s grave and how upset she was. She went right down to town and bought a flag to put on my dad’s grave. Every year until she fell up at the cemetery and could no longer go to make sure he had a flag.

You know how beautiful it is to go by cemeteries and see all of the flags of the veterans on Memorial Day knowing that each and every one fought for our country. What a beautiful sight but you don’t have that in Sandpoint. You just put so many out some get it and some don’t. How very sad this world is coming to. My sister saw what happened on Memorial Day she went and bought a half dozen flags took them back up put one on our dad’s grave and walked around and put the rest on other graves and wished she would have bought more because there were so many more. Then went to Lakeside Cemetery and saw the same thing there. All of the forgotten veterans. How would you like to see this? Your dad luckily came back from fighting for our country worked all of his life in Sandpoint and is forgotten by the country. The VFW or whomever represents the community should put flags on the graves of all veterans. I remember my dad being president of the VFW when I was growing up and I would go help him do many things for the VFW.

What does the upcoming generation know much less appreciate the sacrifices of our veterans have made for our country? Start thinking, parents, some day they will be taking care of the town and the veterans will be forgotten — they won’t even know what a veteran is.

I live in another state and I know they got the high schools to help set the flags on the veterans’ graves, an education in civics. Don’t make excuses that it is the coronavirus and we could not get anyone to do it because of distancing. Well what has happened the last 15 years. Is Sandpoint getting to be a town that doesn’t care about the people who live there — they just care about the tourists. I grew up in Sandpoint I was proud to be from Sandpoint. But right now I am sad of what Sandpoint is becoming.

And I feel sorry for the town if people from out of state were up there on Memorial Day, walking around and saw veterans graves without a flag, I bet they are thinking just what I am thinking. When I was brought up we were brought up to respect the elderly etc. to respect our country and the men and women who fought for our country. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about the overlooked veterans on Memorial Day — it is their day.

LEONA CRAWFORD

Tucson, Ariz.