MERIDIAN, Idaho — Over a hundred people gathered Monday at the Meridian Rock of Honor to reflect on Memorial Day and remember those who have died during service.
The Rock of Honor was built in 2011 in Meridian, after Founder John Burns realized Meridian didn’t have a veteran memorial when he moved here.
“Those folks that paid the ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten in their hometown,” said Eric Wrazin, retired veteran and the vice president of the Rock of Honor board.
Wrazin said the Rock of Honor board started planning the memorial in 2009, with the intention of having a place for people to gather and remember those they lost.
“Our idea was always to leave a place a little better than when you found it,” Wrazin said.
Among those that gathered at the memorial were Al Charlson and Danny Lowber – both retired Air Force veterans.
“It's one of our duties as we have to, and we should, remember those who fell in our own hands, because they gave us the opportunity to carry on,” Charlson said.
Lowber said he thinks it is important for the community to have a place to gather and remember those who have sacrificed their lives, and he said he still tries to learn about those who have lost their lives in service every day.
“We all owe our liberties and freedom to them,” Lowber said.
With a park filled up with people of all generations, Lowber said he was pleased with the turnout.
“I was just glad there's a lot of people in that community because you hear stories that we're getting away from patriotism and all, so it’s nice to see it's still active,” Lowber said. “It's still alive. It was good to see all these people. It's just wonderful.”
Lowber said he hopes events like this can continue to happen, and he said the one thing people can do to honor veterans around them is by simply saying thank you.
“It really warms my heart when people come up to me,” Lowber said. “If they come up to me and they thank me for my service, that really means a lot.”
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