Griffin hopes people will take time to honor soldiers of past wars this Memorial Day

Barbecue grills will be ablaze this weekend and many people will travel to recreational areas to celebrate Memorial Day. Retired Air Force Colonel Gary Griffin, who is also commander of the Utah State University American Legion Post #12, says Memorial Day started as a time to honor those who have fallen in our wars.

He hopes we all remember them on this holiday.

“I was just at Gettysburg last month, at the national cemetery there,” Griffin explains. “It really takes you back when you think of the sacrifice that people have made. Fifty-eight thousand casualties in one battle at Gettysburg, all of them Americans fighting against each other, is a travesty in itself.

“We’ve lost so many people who have stood up for their country and gone off to war. Memorial Day started first of all to celebrate the people who fell in the Civil War. It has since expanded now to honor all of those who went on before us.”

Griffin says many people go to cemeteries on Memorial Day to place flowers on the graves of veterans and also on the graves of their own relatives.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!