This page is dedicated to all the men and women who have unselfishly served our GREAT country and paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives Soldiers - Sailors - Airmen - Marines - Coast Guardsmen Police Officers - Fire Fighters - Emergency Medical Technicans Thank You!

HISTORY First observed in 1868, Decoration Day commemorated more than 600,000 men who died during the American Civil War.  The war left the nation's families divided with brothers fighting against brothers.  At the war's end, friends and family members would visit the graves of the fallen and decorate them with flowers.  This is where the original name of Decoration Day came from. It wasn't until 1882 that the name was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. Eventually it became a day to remember all those who fought and died while serving their country. Memorial Day was declared a national holiday in 1971 officially celebrated the last Monday in May

I watched the flag pass by one day, It fluttered in the breeze. A young Marine saluted it, And then he stood at ease. I looked at him in uniform So young, so tall, so proud, He'd stand out in a crowd. I thought how many men like him Had fallen through the years. How many had died on foreign soil? How many mothers' tears? How many pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea? How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, freedom is NOT free. I heard the sound of Taps one night, When everything was still. I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill. I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant "Amen" When a flag had draped a coffin Of brother or a friend. I thought of all the children, Of mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives. I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea; Of unmarked graves in Arlington ... No, freedom is NOT free. Author Unknown

United States War Casualties
War	Number Serving	Wounded	Killed
Revolutionary War	unknown	6,188	4,435
War of 1812	286,730	4,505	2,260
Mexican War	78,718	4,152	1,733
Civil War	3,213,363	354,805	191,963
Spanish American War	306,760	1,662	385
World War I	4,734,991	204,002	53,402
World War II	16,112,566	671,846	291,557
Korean Conflict	5,720,000	103,284	33,651
Vietnam Conflict	8,744,000	153,303	47,378
Desert Storm	584,585	458	269
September 11, 2001 Uniformed & Civilian NY, WASH.D.C., PA	---	6,389	3,220
Persian Gulf War	665,476	467	148
Operation Iraqi Freedom as of 5/26/06	unknown	18,184	2,465

What is Memorial Day? Is Memorial Day a Hardware sale? A good price on a garden pail? Did my buddies give their limbs, lives, and sinew, For chicken, steaks, and barbecue, For The Coward to place a wreath on sacred ground? While my comrades are crippled and wheelchair bound, Did my buddies die in that living green hell For endless rows of cars to sell? For drunks, accidents and long traffic jams, Did my buddies perish in Vietnam? So while young men drool over the Memorial Day Queen, I'll remember my buddies The Living - The Dead and The In-Between. © 1998 by Jim Hutchinson

As we pause and reflect on the sacrifices made by those who have fought and died for out freedom, whether at home or abroad, it is important that we remember the price that has been paid.  Freedom has never been free, it has been paid for over the years with human lives.  When we loose sight of what it has cost, we begin to take it for granted, it looses it's value and becomes unappreciated.  It is only when something is taken away from us that we fully realize the true value of it. We are also reminded of the high price that was paid for our eternal freedom.  Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, came into this world for one reason, to purchase our spiritual freedom (eternal life in heaven).  He offers it as a free gift.  He paid for our sins through His death on the cross.  Many believe that all that is necessary to go to heaven is attend church and lead a good life.  If that were true, there wouldn't have been a reason for Jesus to die.  But He did die and rose again!  By His death, burial and resurrection Jesus purchased our eternal life.  No one can offer a gift, except the person who purchased it ... Jesus offers each of us the free gift of eternal life. What if YOU died tonight?