Memorial Day and 147 Thank You's

As a cub scout, my husband put flags on graves of veterans at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St Louis on Memorial Day. Today, he spoke at a service at Valley of the Sun Cemetery here in Chandler.

Boy scouts had decorated the graves of the 4,240 veterans buried there.

And although we were not there, we know that a flag flew on his father's grave at the cemetery where his son once set flags. Kevin's father, Erwin Julius Hartke, served in World War II.Memorial Day is more than a day off work. Or having a barbecue. Or spending time with family.It is a day for remembering.

Honoring.

Celebrating freedom.

Karl, pictured with my husband, above, served in the armed forces, beginning in the 1960's.

"Thank you for your service to our country," I said when my husband introduced us.

"147," he replied.

At my puzzled look, he explained, "You might think in the past fifty years that thousands of people would have thanked me for my service to this country, but you are only the 147th person to do so."

To Karl, and the men and women like him who protect our freedoms:

THANK YOU!

(That makes 148.)