Park City marks Memorial Day with ceremony touching on sacrifice and service

Park City marked Memorial Day under brilliant, sunny skies with a ceremony that touched on sacrifice and service as the community remembered the nation’s war dead.

A crowd estimated at more than 200 gathered Monday morning at the Park City Cemetery along Kearns Boulevard for the annual ceremony organized by the Park City post of the American Legion. The crowd included people from various generations standing among the gravestones for the hallowed holiday. They were largely silent through much of the service even as the noise of passing traffic could be heard in the cemetery.

The ceremony, as is tradition, was heavy with protocol, with the singing group the Treble Makers performing the national anthem and “My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” an honor guard presenting the colors and the playing of taps. The Treble Makers also performed Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and the traditional song “Shenandoah.” Numerous gravestones were decorated with flowers and flags for the holiday.

Mayor Ryan Dickey and at least two members of the Park City Council — Bill Ciraco and Tana Toly — were in attendance. The Park City elected officials were not part of the official program, however.

Meredith Reed, a former commander of the American Legion post, was one of the featured speakers, talking about the Civil War-era origins of the holiday and how it once was known as Decoration Day.

“On this national day of remembrance we gather to honor the sacrifices of those who served principles greater than themselves. Memorial Day is more than the unofficial beginning of summer, it is a sacred opportunity to pause, reflect and remember the extraordinary cost of freedom,” she said.

Reed continued, saying Memorial Day “calls us not only to remember the fallen but also to reflect on the ideals on which they served: duty, courage, sacrifice, love of country.”

“We honor those who never came home by striving to live lives worthy of their sacrifice. Caring for one another, strengthening our communities and preserving the freedoms entrusted to us,” she said.

Reed urged the crowd to understand the meaning of the holiday.

“This morning, together, we remind the nation and our community what this day truly represents by paying tribute and remembering the lives of those lost in the U.S. armed services and the immeasurable sacrifices made by their families,” she said. “Let us resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain but to celebrate their lives and memory and to dedicate ourselves to serving the highest ideals of our country.”

Another featured speaker, retired Army Brigadier Gen. Eric Strong, referenced Arlington National Cemetery.

“A place my family and I walked many times while stationed at the Pentagon. From quiet winter nights at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to Memorial Day ceremonies at the amphitheater to silent fall mornings among endless rows of white headstones. Arlington, like so many of our national and state cemeteries, has a way of putting life in perspective,” the Heber City resident said. “It does not make pain disappear, but it reminds us that some gave everything so we can do anything.”

He added: “We gather to say to those who never came home, you are not forgotten.”

Strong told the crowd Memorial Day is not designed to be a celebration.

“It is a solemn day of remembrance and gratitude for those who left home and traveled far away, to places they had never heard of, places they never came home from,” he said.