Community members gather at Lehi cemetery to honor fallen veterans
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- Quin Allred, commander of American Legion Post 19, third from left, and veterans pose for a photo in front of the Lehi Honor Wall during Memorial Day festivities on Monday, May 27, 2024.
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- Flags are displayed along the grass at Lehi City Cemetery for the annual Memorial Day commemoration Monday, May 27, 2024.
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- Flags and flowers adorn a gravesite at Lehi City Cemetery on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2024, to honor a fallen veteran.
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- The Lehi Silver Band plays during a Memorial Day commemoration event Monday, May 27, 2024.
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- Veterans perform an armed forces salute during Lehi’s Memorial Day commemoration event Monday, May 27, 2024.
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- Mayor Mark Johnson, in blue, poses for a photo with local veterans during Lehi’s Memorial Day commemoration Monday, May 27, 2024.
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- Miss Lehi 2023 Aria Conran, right, and her sister Britlyn pose for a photo during a Memorial Day commemoration at Lehi City Cemetery on Monday, May 27, 2024.
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- Lehi’s Honor Wall, located inside Lehi City Cemetery, is pictured Monday, May 27, 2024.
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- A crowd watches the Lehi Silver Band during the annual Memorial Day commemoration at Lehi City Cemetery on Monday, May 27, 2024.
Patriotic harmonies were played from a stage by the Lehi Silver Band at the Lehi City Cemetery on Monday morning as citizens gathered for an annual Memorial Day commemoration.
Large flags filled the grassy area of the cemetery with smaller ones placed on the graves of veterans. Dozens of visitors of all ages attended the hourlong event to honor fallen soldiers, many taking an opportunity to tour Lehi’s Honor Wall containing the names of the Lehi veterans buried in the cemetery.
“All of the names (on the wall) with stars were lost on the battlefield,” explained Quin Allred, the American Legion Post 19 commander. “The rest of our veterans that are buried in this cemetery, we keep track of every one of them.”
Allred welcomed attendees, followed by a singing of the national anthem; a prayer; the Pledge of Allegiance by Aria Conran, Miss Lehi 2023; an armed forces salute; and a host of speakers with touching tributes to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the country.
Lehi City Council member Michelle Stallings reflected on the meaning of why Memorial Day is celebrated and the importance of not leaving history in the past. “Why remember? To answer that question, first and foremost, I think we remember because those people who died serving our country, their lives mattered, they were important,” she said. “Behind every name on a (memorial) wall, every star in a monument is an individual — a mother/daughter and father/son in life — who had the hopes and dreams to somebody, whose life was cut far too short.”
For some, attending the ceremony was a way to remember loved ones. Kristina Lowder of Pleasant Grove told the Daily Herald about her dad who served in the Korean War. He was stationed in Germany, where he’d eventually met his wife.
Lowder called the ceremony spiritual and expressed the significance of honoring loved ones not just on Memorial Day: “Hang your flags, respect your flags. Don’t let those flags fall on the ground. Learn the meaning of the stars and the stripes and the colors,” she said.
Michael Burch of Lehi, remembering her dad who served in the Navy, encouraged those who’ve lost a loved one in service to dig into their family history. “Finding out where they served, what ship were they on, whatever branch they’re in — just finding out more about their branch and what they did, genealogy helps with that,” she said.
The ceremony ended with the playing of taps by the Lehi Silver Band, followed by the selection “Homeward Bound.”
