Each year on Memorial Day, we set aside time to honor the memory of those beloved friends and family members who have passed, including our veterans. While it is comforting to reminisce about those we have lost and enjoyable to share picnics or time at the lake with those still among us, many of us forget why Memorial Day became a holiday. Designated as a day to honor those men and women who died while serving, Memorial Day offers a solemn time to reflect on our freedom and the selfless courage that made it possible. Those who gave their lives while defending ours made the ultimate sacrifice and paid the price of our freedom. Our holidays come at the expense of their lives. Memorial Day allows us the opportunity to commemorate them.
In preparation for Memorial Day each year, members of the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion, Bristow Boy Scout Troop 571, and Bristow City Cemetery staff place American flags at the graves of servicemen and women. This year, a few enhancements were made in remembrance of those killed in action.
In the last year, Bristow City Cemetery Caretaker Billy Ledbetter started painting bricks black with “KIA” painted in white to honor those killed in action yearround. As he makes them, he places them at the headstones of the men and women who perished while serving. Providing a weather-resistant, more permanent means to identify those who made the ultimate sacrifice was important to Billy. With the bricks as identifiers, any visitor can now easily recognize the graves of those individuals.
Additionally, the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, and Sons of the American Legion provided something special in honor of those killed in action. Usually, they place American flags bearing black “KIA” ribbons at the graves of those servicemen and women. This year, they provided and placed American flags bearing personalized KIA ribbons embroidered with the name of each serviceman or woman deserving of that honor. An anonymous donor created the personalized ribbons on behalf of the American Legion family.
Friday morning, Justin Adair, Bob Mason, and Nanci Galatian, representing of the three American Legion organizations, met at the Bristow City Cemetery to place the personalized flags. They placed 14 flags at graves and a 15th flag at the base of the main flagpole near the cemetery pavilion. The 15th flag placed honors Ryan Grady, a young Bristow serviceman killed in action but buried in West Virginia. His mother, Debra Grady, resides in Bristow.
On Oct. 15, 2020, Mayor Rick Pinson presented Ms. Grady with a proclamation in honor of her son, who made the ultimate sacrifice. For this Memorial Day, the Bristow community may also be reminded of his sacrifice, thanks to the American Legion’s choice to honor him at the base of the American flag. Billy Ledbetter aided the group in locating the graves for placement of the remaining 14 flags. That evening, he joined the Bristow Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts in placing American flags at the graves of all known military veterans.
As for the American Legion and its family organizations, Legion Commander Justin Adair states that they place 62 flags along Main Street in addition to honoring veterans buried in the cemetery. The flag of each military branch flies along Main among the dozens of American flags. He says it takes one to two hours to put up the flags, which they place a few days to a week in advance of major holidays.
Anyone interested in supporting, joining, or learning more about the American Legion or its associated organizations may contact
Commander Justin Adair at (918) 807-9224 or at the email of justin.adair84@icloud.com.