SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted plenty of Memorial Day traditions, but there are still ways to honor those who lost their lives serving the United States.
“Everything is so different this year,” KELO Public Affairs Director John Michaels told Bill Zortman on Friday’s edition of It’s Your Agri-Business. “You might complain about having to sit at home today, but your grandfather or great-grandfather maybe at 18 was fighting Japan or Germany.”
While mass gatherings in Sioux Falls have been called off, the American Legion is sponsoring a drive-through remembrance at four area cemeteries on Monday morning.
Those in attendance will line up at the Legion parking lot at 9:30 a.m. and proceed through Woodlawn, Mt. Pleasant, Hills of Rest and St. Michael cemeteries. Attendees are encouraged to hold a flag out the window.
The Legion is also encouraging people to light candles in their windows at dusk on Monday evening. Michaels said different candle colors can honor different people: red for those lost in combat, white for prisoners of war or those missing in action, or blue to symbolize the love for soldiers who did not come home.
Listen to the full conversation here (starting at the 38-minute mark).