'Carrying the Load' honors the fallen

Everyone who serves or has served in the military is worthy of honor and respect. Sometimes, our annual observances that focus on service to our country get mixed together and the original meanings lost. So it is with Memorial Day, the purpose of which is to pay tribute not to those who have worn the uniform only, but to those who have died in uniform -- those who, as President Abraham Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg Address, "gave the last full measure of devotion." Cape's inaugural Memorial Day "Carry the Load" march honored those who paid that ultimate price.

Throughout the nation, people take part in activities leading up to and on Memorial Day -- community parades, cemetery ceremonies, patriotic concerts. Locally this year, people participated in Civil War re-enactments at Fort D, a service at the Osage Centre, and a Jackson Municipal Band concert at the Jackson City Cemetery.

Carry the Load, part of a larger movement based in Texas, provided yet another opportunity for people to get involved. About 100 people participated in the event designed to show appreciation for those who did not make it back home. Veterans, firefighters, and civilians were among those who signed up for the 3 1/2 mile walk that went from Broadway and Main Streets to an Osage Centre ceremony to Cape County Park North for a barbecue.

Some military members came adorned in combat uniforms, firefighters carried water hoses, and others marched with American flags and backpacks, all fully aware that the load carried that day was light compared to the load we each carry in our hearts: the loss of those who died in service to America.

And that's what Carry the Load was all about. It was a reminder of what Memorial Day really is -- something so easily lost in all the talk of the summer kickoff, grilling, and even well-meaning expressions of gratitude to those who currently serve.

"It's not about a three-day weekend, it's not about barbecuing, it's not about the soldiers and the people who are alive. It's about the ones who never came back, and I think that's an honorable cause," Gary Villalobos, a member of the U.S. Army, recently told the Southeast Missourian. We agree, and we are most grateful.

Most of us will never be called upon to die for our country, but many understand the symbolism of carrying whatever load we can to honor those who have.