RAPID CITY, S.D. — On Monday, Rapid City marked the Memorial Day vacation with a ceremony downtown.
Dozens gathered in Memorial Park, dodging the rain to pay their respects to people who paid the last word value.
“The occasion is merely to honor people who have died,” says Ed Manzano, the president of the Black Hills War Monument Association. “We put aside in the future a 12 months; Congress made it a regulation in 1971 that the final Monday in May can be Memorial Day to honor people who have fallen in our wars.”
Local army organizations additionally arrived to pay their respects, whereas an honor guard stood watch and carried out a standard ceremonial volley and performed faucets.
Ryan Skjoldal, the commander of the Post 22 American Legion Honor Guard, says, “It is vital for us to do that, as a result of we have to proceed to honor the those who have served earlier than us. Without that, we’d be nowhere as a nation.”
Among the group have been relations of these South Dakotans killed or lacking in motion — like the primary cousins of Captain Don Smith, a Doolittle Raider who was born and raised in Belle Fourche. Smith flew the fifteenth airplane within the Raid, survived and was killed in motion over Western Europe in 1942.
“Well I believe that we — all of us — simply present our appreciation for what these individuals did, our relations did, and what they did and the companies that they did for his or her nation,” says Smith’s surviving first cousin, Mary Ann Noziska.
Whether you’re working, vacationing, barbecuing or spending time with household, Manzano urges individuals to recollect what the day is actually about.
“It’s vital that we always remember that freedom is not free,” Manzano provides. “Freedom has all the time include a price and with a value, and that’s normally been shed in blood.”
The Black Hills War Monument Association is working to improve the present battle memorial positioned close to the nook of fifth and Omaha Streets in Rapid City. Manzano says they hope to dedicate the brand new additions of the memorial on September 11, 2022.
CLICK HERE for extra info on the Black Hills War Monument Association.
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