This past Monday was Memorial Day, which — I and many people I know — were excited for it for all the wrong reasons: the day off; the time to ourselves.
It is because I knew that I was wrong I chose to volunteer to put flags out on graves of deceased veterans. My mother found a group through Facebook who asked for help in doing this, and my sister and brother offered to participate with me.
As I walked around the cemetery, others would stop and mention how nice it was of me to come out. This I could not understand, as Memorial Day is not simply a holiday, but a day to honor the people of our country.
As I am sure I will never be able to serve in the military — due to my pampered lifestyle and personality regarding all things gruesome — I found that this day, at least, we as a nation should give up some time to say thank you for the years that many veterans have lost — and that soldiers continue to lose — of their lives.
Upon going to this cemetery I did not know about all the cool stories I would hear from gravestones and from men who stopped to tell us about there time in service. The most interesting gravestone we happened to see belonged to a military nurse who served not only in World War II but also in the Korean War.
For certain reasons, I feel that it is wrong to disclose her name — however, I, myself, will never forget her name.
Annie Blakeley is a student at Richmond County Ninth Grade Academy, is a band and chorus student and a member of First United Methodist Church in Hamlet.