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Show Page B5 - Ele fctmgg-Hftepcnhe- - Thursday, May 26, 2005 nt honor all off otult veterans Changing the date . . . may have undermined meaning of the day. Never, never, never forget , , . Editor's note: Just about anything you want to know about Memorial Day has been compiled by David Merchant on the web site www.usmemorialday.org. Here are a few excerpts: To help and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed in December 2000. It asks that at 3 p.m. on May 30, all Americans . . . voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps. Many feel that when Congress made the day (May 30) into a three-da- y weekend with the National Holiday Act of 1971, it made it all the easier for people to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of (Memorial Day). As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day address: Changing the date merely to create three-da- y weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general publics nonchalant observance of Memorial Day. The moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country. Set aside time to remember by Colene Christensen . Terwilleger Memorial, as defined in Websters Dictionary, means something that keeps remem- - ... family members who have passed on to a better place, I believe to be free of pain and suffering. Memorial Day is also an brance alive. I remember important reminder of those years ago going to the Old Cem- - who died in the service to their etery with my mother to deco- - Country. My brother, Dick rate graves. Memorial Day, at Christensen, was one of those, one time, was actually called He died Oct. 5, 1968, in Day. I never really nam from injuries he sustained thought about the true mean- - while in ground combat with ing of Memorial Day back then, enemy forces. I, for one, am but I did know it was a day set very proud of the .men and aside to remember loved ones women who serve in our Armed whd had passed away, just by ' Forces to keep our country safe and free. leaving them a flower. Since that time, Ive had My father Leo Christensen several family members pass served in WWII. What would away. Mom left us just last our country be without these November, so the honor of dedicated individuals? We need Decorating graves and main- - to remember how much they taining the family cemetery give so we can enjoy this and will now be mine and my every day in freedom and set brother Teds. This Memorial aside a little time this Memo-Da- y we will set her headstone rial Day to remember those and leave fresh flowers, to keep who have died while serving the memories alive, to all our our Country. Viet-Decorati- A reminder to contemplate what other persons have contributed for the freedoms ofAmerica: The veterans of various wars. (Memorial DayJ'isfor those who have died during war and peace. Bill Wilbur Smith . c & i Bob Norman World War II memories are as profound as a by Mel Dalton I was asked if I would At write ocean battle-drenche- d boot camp, while training on the 30 and 50 caliber machine guns, I always scored very high. I was asked if Id like to be a seagoing Marine and man a A.A. gun aboard a war ship, or fight on the land. Not too many people got a choice. I chose the antiaircraft aboard ship. On my discharge papers there is just one word: gunner. down some of my thoughts about Memorial Day. I was in World War II, and that is where my thoughts come from. Theres no way I could write down a lot of things that happened. But each year on Memorial Day I do think of a lot of things. I always think about Pearl I always think about our Harbor December 7, 1941 j the sinking of the Battle Ship town Moab and Grand County Arizona, where 1,177 of its - they paid a high' price. I think about the cemetery crew were killed, where 2,390 Americans were killed in that just above our town where surprise attack. eight young men I went to I always remember I was a school with gave their all. I senior in Grand County High think about those eight young School. Some of my high school men who never had the chance friends quit school and joined to fall in love, have a family, the armed services. Some never belong to a town. They died on came home. foreign battlefields thousands A few months later in 1942 of miles from Moab. I joined the U.S. Marine Corps. I think about all the flags I was in my late teens. and white crosses put up by the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars at the cemetery each year, and what that sight does to me. lives. They went non-sto- p We SINCERELY THANK the following individuals and businesses for sponsoring these pages AAMS Mild to Wild Rafting Acme Bike Shuttle Arches Book CompanyBack of Beyond BAR-- Chuckwagon Big E Service Big O Tires Bill Schultz Attorney at Law M - Branding Iron Brown Betty Candy Shoppe Canyonlands Outdoor Sports, Inc. Canyonlands Tesoro Central Utah Insurance Certified Ford Clarks Parts Plus , Corey-Murra- y Drywall Daves Corner Market Doles Ice Co. Edward Jones Investment Family Drug Frank Vaccaro Plumbing, Inc. Grand Rental Center Gravel Pit Lanes High Desert Gardens Joe Sorensen Construction, Inc. JRs Desert Inn & Self Storage Keogh Land Surveying Knowles Home Furnishings KSUE Corporation L&S Repair La Sal Manufactured Homes Landmark Inn Launch Pad Game Room LeGrand Johnson Construction Lemas Kokopelli Gallery Lube-I- t Express Main Street Music & Video Memory Lane Thrift Shoppe Moab 4x4 Outpost Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Moab Brewery Chevron ' Construction Fitness Center Grocery Gulf Club Mailing Center Man Auto Glass Plumbing Rim RV Campark Speedqueen Laundromat Times-Independe- nt Vacation Properties Valley Inn for three days. I think about friends being buried at sea. I think about all the I think about the last Great veterans we bury in Moab each Sea Battle that probably the world will never see: the Battle year. I think about the one thing of Surigao Strait. I was grateful for in the War. It We sank two Japanese was fought thousands of miles battle ships, two heavy from Moab. cruisers, two light cruisers and I knew my family and 10 destroyers. In less than 20 friends were safe. minutes the ocean was full of I think about the time Japanese sailors. between December 7, 1941 I often think of all the when bombs fell on Pearl wounded, and how lucky I was. Harbor to August 9, 1945 when The thing I think most a nuclear bomb was dropped on about are the mothers, who the Japanese City of Nagasaki. gave their sons and daughters During that time 292,000 U.S. that we might live in peace. soldiers gave their all. I often think of the mothers I think about a Kamikaze of those that attacked us, and plane hitting our ship, killing the friendships we have with and wounding 100 of our them today. I often think of things Id shipmates. I think about how hard the like to forget, and hope that it Navy Corpsmen worked to save wouldnt happen again. 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