When I was growing up, Memorial Day weekend meant a road trip to put flowers on the graves of relatives.

After helping my parents find the spot where someone was buried, I’d wander among the gravestones. I’d do the math to figure how old people were when they died, and I’d wonder about their lives. I guess that was the beginning of my fascination with cemeteries. I became a ‘Tombstone Tourist’, to borrow a term I found online.

On Memorial Day I’m especially mindful of the military cemeteries I’ve visited. This weekend, for the first time in 35 years, all the graves at Ft Snelling National Cemetery will be marked by a flag – a wonderful tribute. Whatever (or whomever) is kept in memory endures.

This year my husband and I are not spending Memorial Day in South Dakota where my parents are buried. I received a call a few days ago from an acquaintance who will be speaking at the services there. His questions brought to mind something I’d found while doing family history research.

A July 1942 article in the Evening Huronite, under the headline “Family Contributes Many Sons to Army,” reports “The Henrichsen Family of Buffalo County has done its share in giving sons to the armed forces of Uncle Sam.” Five Henrichsen siblings (my grandfather, his three brothers and a sister) had a total of nine sons in military service during World War II.

At the time the news article appeared, the total sacrifice hadn’t yet been computed. Jimmie Henrichsen was still reported as “missing in action” although he was on the USS Oklahoma when it was bombed at Pearl Harbor and his body would remain entombed there. My dad, George, would be captured by the Germans in 1944 and spend the last nine months of the war as a POW. And my dad’s brother, Maurice “Pete”, would be killed in January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge.

So many wars, so many losses.

Take a moment today to remember and honor those who’ve served to defend our country, those who gave their lives, and the families left behind.