Memorial Day - Greenfield ~

 This was the fifth year we've made the drive east to Greenfield for Memorial Day.  (Nika again stayed with Doris.)  We decided to stay in Creston this year, closer to Green Valley State Park, where we'd planned to ride our bikes.

We left home early Sunday.  I wanted plenty of time to tidy things up at both cemeteries where my family are buried & change out flowers in the vases.  When we drove to Greenfield, the flag poles were up!  A sure sign the flags would be added early in the morning. 

Memorial Day, driving in from Creston, the view of  all the flags flying again, was amazing to see.  

Greenfield Cemetery~

Greenfield American Legion Head-Endres Post No. 265 and V.F.W. Post No. 5357 - hadn't flown the flags for the last two-years.  It's a large, labor intensive job & can't be done in bad weather.  The day was cool & with high overcast.  Just a light breeze from time to time caught the flags & put them in motion.  

Veteran Sunken Garden

Again, as part of the ceremony, a roll call of the name of each Veteran was spoken, followed by a 21-gun salute.  It took just over twenty-minutes.  676 Crosses are in the garden.  Among them, my Dad's, brother Russ & several Uncles.

My Dad's cross~

The poppies are in a bundle at the head of each row.  When the time comes, the people attending are asked to walk the rows & add a poppy to each cross.  This year I took my turn.

Dad's flag, my brother's next~

It gives me comfort to see Dad & my brother Russ's flags next to each other.  Two of the 456 displayed on this Memorial Day.

My Mother, Brother & Dad~

Artificial flowers were hard to come by this year.  Hobby Lobby's shelves were stripped almost bare.  Butch's sharp eyes found the beautiful green hydrangea.   We bring flags for the flag holders each year, but this year, they were already placed.

Overhead as we were driving out~

We visited other family graves before leaving.  I'm always melancholy after the service.  We drove back to Creston & had lunch before stopping at the True Value.  It's one of the places we enjoy browsing through, when we visit.  I found a really nice sized Aronia Berry bush.  I'm going to try to keep this one alive & go from there!