Memorial Day 2012

Since moving to west central Illinois, we are discovering everything new! We feel like tourists quite a bit of the time and have decided it's a great learning opportunity. Our latest adventure was searching for a ceremony on Memorial Day. We headed to Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield and had a great morning. The day began with a ceremony honoring Civil War soldiers, complete with a 21 gun salute with muskets. It was located by the original vault of Abraham Lincoln. The second ceremony was held close to the monuments for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Each of these monuments were beautiful reminders of the bravery of our soldiers. The speaker was fantastic and the Springfield Municipal Band was wonderful! It was gratifying to see so many come out to pay tribute to our military. For the esteemed Mr. Holmes, the picture of the globe was fascinating. (not just because it was big and round!) Each silver button was labelled and corresponded with a section of two walls depicting a timeline of major battles - European Theater and Pacific Theater. Kevin was telling me where he thought you were. I frantically followed him taking pictures. How'd I do? We are grateful for your service sir!