Memorial Day ~

We were up & on our way to Greenfield early.  I wanted to arrive in time to decorate our families graves & find a place in the shade for the Memorial Ceremony.  Grateful appreciation has to be expressed to the members of the Greenfield American Legion Head-Endres Post No. 265 and V.F.W. Post No. 5357 

Entrance~

 We were among the first to arrive & it was nice to have the quiet of the morning to place flowers on my parents & brother Russ's graves.  My fraternal Grandparents gravesite is nearby, where we placed branches of wild red roses.

Honor Guard~

Butch had our chairs under a large tree in the shade & I was thankful for that - as the day was heating up incredibly fast.  The ceremony was beautiful, with the names of each & every Veteran called out.  The American Legion sets crosses in the Memorial Garden for each Veteran, in alphabetical order & by War or conflict.

Poppies placed on the crosses~

  Volunteers were asked to help place a poppy on each cross.  It's a staggeringly somber sight, to think of all the men, just from this small town, who have served & died for our country.

A field of Honor~

Both my father & my youngest brother have crosses here, along with several Uncles.  Many family names were familiar to me.  After the ceremony, family members could collect the poppies & we brought my two home~

Dad's Flag~

We took the walk to visit Dad's flag - no wind on this day - so Butch held it out for the photo.  A fitting tribute to so many who served valiantly & died for the freedom we enjoy today.

Last View~

As we drove south - Butch stopped for me to take in this last view of the Cemetery.  It's still very hard for me to think of the family I have lost.  I was so very lucky to know my grandparents so well as a child & as the oldest, have the most memories of them. 

From here we traveled on to where the maternal side of my family is buried.  It's in a quiet, almost forgotten part of the Iowa countryside.  We were the only ones there, with only the songs of the birds drifting in the light breeze.  

Family plot~

When we were planting all the emerald green trees at the Homestead, Mom got the idea of planting one at each corner of the plot here.  Even under very harsh conditions & getting hit by a mower on occasion, they've managed to live.  

A quote from the only early history I've managed to find on this area, entitled;  "A Parson's Vacation", describes it this way in 1855.  "He was especially impressed with the native wealth of western Iowa's never-ending rolling divides, then so luxuriantly covered with waving grass in a sea of green & dotted with wild flowers of every hue;  all tossing their radiant greetings to him in the gentle summer breezes."

We drove past Grandma's farm on our way back to Greenfield.  Lunch was overdue & by the time we'd finished, a thunderstorm had rolled in.  Driving through it, at home the temperatures were up in the high 90's yet again.