Local veterans and residents paid respect to the men and women who died in the service of their country.
Allen County veterans' organizations, public officials, and businesses honored the veterans that didn't make it home with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Lima VFW for Memorial Day. Each of them has a special connection to one or more branches of the military and they were glad to see the public come out and pay their respects on this day.
"It's a way to honor the people that have fallen, dying for our country, so it's like they gave the ultimate sacrifice so we try once a year on Memorial Day, we like to honor them since they are why America is America," stated Ronald Bounds, Commandant, 1063 Detachment Marine Corp. League.
Memorial Day was originally called "Decoration Day," and was started in 1869 as a way for the nation to honor the graves of those who died in the Civil War with flowers. Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday in 1971.
