Memorial Day is special in that it was established to remember those who gave all in defending our country. I was born right at the end of WWII, so I wasn't aware of some of the traditions associated with WWII. My route as a paper boy included several houses that had homes with a blue star in the window. I asked my parents what that meant. That symbolized a family member serving overseas during the war. If that individual died in service, the blue star was replaced with a gold star. We were fortunate enough that all 5 of my uncles who served returned home safely. One house in my hometown (Waterloo, Iowa) had 5 gold stars in their window. The five Sullivan brothers were all lost together when the cruiser Juneau was sunk.
Larry Brown, COL/ Ret, MI-USAR
