(RI photo)
Ceremonies are planned across the state Monday for Memorial Day. Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman Karl Lettow says they are hosting two pubic events.
“Our official state of Iowa Memorial Day ceremony is out at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. That’ll be at 8:30. That’s the Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter right off I-80. Governor Reynolds will be speaking, and our keynote speaker is going to be the Adjutant General for the Iowa National Guard, Major General Stephen Osborn,” Lettow says.
The other event is a ceremony at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown, where the Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg will speak. Lettow says volunteers have put up flags throughout the cemetery and the ceremony itself will be traditional. He says it is important to take this time to remember those who sacrificed for our country.
“A country that forgets why Memorial Day is important. is a country that runs the risk of having to relearn all of those lessons,” he says. Lettow says the Veterans Cemetery is a great place to honor Iowans. “What people have done for us, for us to be able to live the way that we do is beyond most of the common person’s imagination,” Lettow says. “And, you know, there’s no better place for us put our heroes than the black soil of Iowa. And we’re a state that has has done this better than they do and most other places to be honest. And we’re really, really fortunate to have a facility out there.”
He hopes everyone will take time to attend a ceremony Monday to remember and be greatful. “For the Iowans and all the other Americans that have gone before, to make sure that we have this way of life,” Lettow says. Both of the ceremonies will be streamed Monday on the Department’s Facebook page.