Everyone in the world has a story. It begins at birth and ends at death. Some stories are much too short -- only a few paragraphs -- and others are volumes.
On Memorial Day, we remember and respect those people in our family, our life, our military and our country whose stories on Earth have come to an end.
McKenzie Taggart, a sophomore at Northridge High School, says she thinks of her grandparents on Memorial Day.
"I really miss my grandma because we would go to her house every Sunday, and she would always have pies or cookies waiting for us," she says.
Junior Jacob Haney remembers his dad and visits his grave.
"I miss everything about him, especially his advice," says the Syracuse High student.
"I think of my grandmother," adds Liz Bond, a Roy High senior. "I loved her a lot; she was a little bit wild and she loved to surprise people. She was also probably the most Christ-like person I have ever known."
Hillary Christensen, a Layton High senior, says she misses a lot of things about her grandfather, who recently passed away.
"I miss that he used to give me the warm and melty M & Ms out of his cardigan pocket and how he would take me to baseball games," she says.
Remember veterans
To memorialize means to show remembrance, respect and honor. Today we can memorialize our friends and others who have touched our lives with their stories.
"I think of my best friend who died when I was in third grade," says Sydnee Fulmer, a junior at Roy High School. "He was one of the strongest people I knew. He got cancer in his leg and then it went to his lungs and then his brain."
Fulmer says she learned a lot from her friend's life and says how she misses "just being his friend. He was so happy. He just loved life even though he was in so much pain."
Memorial Day is a time to remember veterans, to reflect on what they contributed and how each person's sacrifices made the world a better place.
Bruce Bilner, a Davis High School ceramics teacher, says, "Memorial Day means a lot to me because I served in the Army National Guard for 24 years, first class sergeant. Memorial Day is just a small percentage of what we owe these people for their sacrifices."
Bilner adds, "There is a lifetime that we owe these men and women (who serve our country). They don't ask for anything, just respect and they get none. They are giving THEIR lives for OUR freedoms."
On Memorial Day, Tanner Denson, a Davis High junior, says, "I think about the fact that we have kind of a divinely led country, and a lot of lives are lost for this country just so we can live every day. I think a lot of people misunderstand the concept that we wouldn't be here without millions of people who have died. I mean, every day we see the products of their work -- their efforts in action."
A flag of honor
Hannah Domgaard, a Syracuse High sophomore, thinks about her great-grandfather on Memorial Day: "He served in World War II and my grandma talks about him whenever I see her."
Domgaard adds, "I didn't really know him, but I miss the chance of knowing him."
"On Memorial Day I think of both my grandpas because they both fought in a war," says Joe Pali, a senior at Fremont High School. "For my grandpa that is dead, we take flowers to his grave, and we go and visit my other grandpa."
Many have family traditions for Memorial Day, such as visiting cemeteries.
Taggart says, "We visit my grandparents' graves, clean them and take them flowers."
"I don't do anything special, but we talk about my great-grandpa and sometimes put a flag in our yard," says Domgaard.
Bond, at Roy High, says she and her family pay their respects to her late grandmother.
"We go and visit her in Logan and try and jazz up her headstone," she says. "It has flower vases so we use plastic flower arrangements so it looks good all year."
TX. correspondents Dallin Abendroth and Cheylie Dotson, Davis High; Dezarae Beaman and Michelle Thurgood, Syracuse High; Morgan Briesmaster and Lynette Randall, Northridge High; Melody Campbell, Fremont High, and Shelby Shelman, Roy High, contributed to this story.
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Mackenzie Stevens is a junior at Bonneville High School. She loves playing volleyball and chill-axing with friends. E-mail her at stevensma1@wsdmail.net.
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