• Tara Bozick •
• Originally published May 24, 2008 at 11:43 p.m., updated May 24, 2008 at 11:43 p.m.

Memorial Day isn’t just a day to go fishing or take an extra day off.

The day was meant to honor our service men and women, both those who have died and those still living, Victoria County commissioner Precinct 3 Gary Burns said.

“We ask so much of them and they have been so willing to make the ultimate sacrifice,” Burns said.

Burns will be the feature speaker for the Memorial Day main ceremony at the gazebo in DeLeon Plaza at 11 a.m. Monday.

The ceremony will begin with an invocation by the Rev. Stan DeBoe of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, followed by a reading of the names of all veterans who died since the last ceremony.

Veteran groups will lay memorial wreaths at the gazebo.

The Rev. David Couchman of Zion Lutheran Church will give the benediction and the ceremony will end with volleys by the Catholic War Veterans rifle squad and the playing of Taps.

Between 200 and 300 people usually attend, event co-coordinator Dr. Peter B. Riesz with the Victoria County Veterans Council said. He invites families, and especially children, to come and see what a veteran looks like.

Compared to the days of World War II, our area doesn’t see many people donning military uniforms anymore, he said.

“Without them fighting for us, we’d be conquered by somebody else and going by somebody else’s laws,” Riesz said about veterans.

Before the main ceremony, veteran groups will gather at 7:30 a.m. at the courthouse steps to display 32 flags of the United States, where they will be lowered to half-staff until noon. After a blessing, the flags will be taken to 32 cemeteries in Victoria County for display.

Burns also reminds residents to pause at 3 p.m. during the National Moment of Remembrance to think about the true meaning of the day.

“Monday will be a day to stop. Monday will give us a chance to stop and think back and, hopefully, come together,” Burns said. “We ask our veterans now to teach our generation and the next generations the lessons they’ve learned.”

Tara Bozick is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6504 or tbozick@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

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