This spring the Chief was surprised to discover that he had been volunteered to serve as the sexton for a small country cemetary a few miles from his HQ.  This has been an interesting sort of job, and has presented the opportunity to reflect on the circumstances of life, and of course, of its ending.

With Memorial Day at hand, the question arose as to what, if anything could/should be done in recognition of the the 31 vets (that are known) to have their remains in this cemetary.  (SMALL cemetery, but definitely still in use.)  As a retired Navy vet myself, this was not entirely an academic question, and an inquiry to the VFW led to contact with a post in Sioux Falls that has taken on the task of placing over 3000 flags on vets’ graves in two Sioux Falls cemeteries!  They  graciously provided us with a few dozen flags, and we at least did the honors of placing the flags with our own vets for the occasion, the first (but definitely not the last!) time that this has been done in an organized way at “our” cemetary.

Among “our” 31 that we know of, there are veterans of the Civil War, WW-I, WW-II, Korea, Viet-nam, as well as Cold War era service.  In spite of the relative remoteness of the cemetary, and the declining rural population, it was surprising and gratifying to see that flowers and memorials had been placed on the great majority of the gravesites…in some cases we KNOW that people travelled some distance (at $3.20 per gallon or more) in order to remember and honor their ancestors, whether vets or not.

IMHO, this demonstrates some sort of solid core values that are still alive and well here in flyover country, in spite of the sneers and condescension of the MSM and the so-called elites that they shove down our throats as examples of superiority that usually prove to be scum floating to the surface like something rotting and best avoided if at all possible.

Thank God for those who are still willing to serve and defend what is still the best nation that has existed on this planet, as well as to those who honor and respect the sacrifices and efforts of all of those who have contributed to the building of this Republic.