MONROE - With the wind blowing through the trees and whipping flags, Monroe celebrated Memorial Day Monday and took time to remember the veterans who served their country.
There were tears as the names of Green County veterans who died over the past year were read and flowers placed before the monument "to remember the honored dead who gave the last full measure of devotion," said retired Col. George Wells at the ceremony in Greenwood Cemetery.
"It's a day to pay tribute to the men and women who served and the men and women who died," he said. "Nothing we can say will give credit to what they did."
Wells spoke about the why it's important to remember what Memorial Day is about and to think of those who gave their lives for their country and fought for freedom.
They left behind their parents, siblings, wives or sweethearts, he said.
"If we don't reflect on what they did we are forgetting them," Wells said.
Many people don't understand what Memorial Day is for and they don't understand the sacrifices made by soldiers, he said.
Wells talked about the battle of Iwo Jima, in early 1945. He spoke about the bravery of the Marines who fought for a piece of land that covers as many acres as the City of Monroe.
"These were American boys, just out of high school," he said. "They knew they had to take that island."
There were six soldiers who raised the flag over Iwo Jima in the most famous picture taken during World War II, he said. The picture later became a monument and can be seen in Washington D.C.
But the picture and the monument only tell part of the story.
Of the six men who raised the flag, only three survived. The other three were killed before the island was secured by the Marines.
The picture was taken a few days into the battle, when the mountain was taken. It took the Marines about a month to take the rest of the island, and it cost them about 7,000 lives.
"Memorial Day means a lot to a veteran," Wells said.
There were tears as the names of Green County veterans who died over the past year were read and flowers placed before the monument "to remember the honored dead who gave the last full measure of devotion," said retired Col. George Wells at the ceremony in Greenwood Cemetery.
"It's a day to pay tribute to the men and women who served and the men and women who died," he said. "Nothing we can say will give credit to what they did."
Wells spoke about the why it's important to remember what Memorial Day is about and to think of those who gave their lives for their country and fought for freedom.
They left behind their parents, siblings, wives or sweethearts, he said.
"If we don't reflect on what they did we are forgetting them," Wells said.
Many people don't understand what Memorial Day is for and they don't understand the sacrifices made by soldiers, he said.
Wells talked about the battle of Iwo Jima, in early 1945. He spoke about the bravery of the Marines who fought for a piece of land that covers as many acres as the City of Monroe.
"These were American boys, just out of high school," he said. "They knew they had to take that island."
There were six soldiers who raised the flag over Iwo Jima in the most famous picture taken during World War II, he said. The picture later became a monument and can be seen in Washington D.C.
But the picture and the monument only tell part of the story.
Of the six men who raised the flag, only three survived. The other three were killed before the island was secured by the Marines.
The picture was taken a few days into the battle, when the mountain was taken. It took the Marines about a month to take the rest of the island, and it cost them about 7,000 lives.
"Memorial Day means a lot to a veteran," Wells said.