Black Hills National Cemetery remembers fallen veterans, Ellsworth Airmen help honor them

  • Published
  • By Airman Nicolas Z. Erwin
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

The Black Hills National Cemetery held two Memorial Day services to honor fallen veterans near Sturgis, South Dakota, May 29, 2017.

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May as a day of remembrance for service members who have died.

With more than 23,000 gravesites, the Black Hills National Cemetery is a significant location during Memorial Day weekend for families to visit loved ones, and honor their sacrifices and service to their country.

To help honor the fallen veterans interned on the hallowed grounds, Ellsworth Airmen placed flags and assisted thousands of visitors.

“When Ellsworth first started assisting [this event] in 2007, there were only seven volunteers,” said John Hopple, the unit program coordinator assigned to the 28th Maintenance Group. “This year we had over 180 Airmen volunteer to help families find their service member as well as directing traffic and parking vehicles.”

However, this wasn’t about the volunteerism of service members; it is about the sacrifices made.

 “It’s a pay-it-forward event,” Hopple explained. “If my wife was looking for [my tombstone], I would want her to find it. [The Airmen] are there to help people who might not even think they need help. For example, when the Atlas storm came through over 100 trees were [torn from] the cemetery, so people who haven’t been here for a couple years won’t be use the old landmarks they used to locate their loved ones.”

The importance of this event is the families who are searching for their loved ones. Whether it is the woman who holds onto a tombstone sobbing for her father, or the great-grandchild that never knew the service member, Ellsworth volunteers were there to help.

“My husband [James] is here,” said Joyce Anderson, a resident of Rapid City, South Dakota. “My son and I visit him every year. It’s amazing being able to see everyone out here and being able to find their families out here. James and I met [when he was stationed in South Dakota] when we were [20 years old] and were together ever since.”

This day represents many things, and one way people present this event is with silence. Silence to consider the enormity of [service members] courage; silence to face the reality of the people lost; silence because there are no words strong enough to comfort those [families] left behind.

 “I wanted to sign up for this event the moment I heard about it,” said Airman 1st Class Darius, an intelligence analyst assigned to the 89th Attack Squadron. “I wanted to participate in something national. Now that I [have been a part of this], I realized there is so much more: I have heard the stories of veterans, spouses and families, I have seen scars and medals from wars, and I have met so many people who are proud to have served and are proud that there are still people serving.”

Hopple explained that families will hold onto the tombstones, they will spend the entire day with their family member, and the feeling of love and loss is so pervasive that there are no words to truly describe the meaning of this day.

Memorial Day’s original purpose was to decorate the graves of service members who died in defense of our country during the Civil War who were buried in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. Decorations and remembrance still occur, but this celebration allows for people to understand military conflict, sacrifices and successes that service members have experienced across multiple generations.