As the wind whipped through the flags around them and thunder boomed in the distance, the Callaway American Legion Color Guard stood statue-still during the Memorial Day Program at Rose Hill Cemetery Monday morning, May 30.

Despite the stormy weather, about 50 people turned out to pay their respects to service members who died while serving our country and listen to the program by Bill Williams, a Vietnam veteran and local Methodist pastor. Williams, who offered a short history of Memorial Day and its origins as Decoration Day, also spoke about his service and the death of friends during the conflict, and the staggering number of service members who have died during active duty. By his research, there are more than 1 million soldiers in this category.

“These numbers are just numbers unless they are connected to loved ones and have meaning,” he said.

As heavy raindrops began to fall, Dirk Stryker of the Callaway American Legion laid the memorial wreath on the white cross and the Color Guard stood at attention with their flags and began the 21-gun salute. Many members of the crowd wiped tears from their faces and faced the wind and rain in an act of deference to those being honored.

Tony Pitkin offered the closing prayer as the rain and wind picked up, showing that Mother Nature does cooperate from time-to-time in Central Nebraska.

This year a large American flag - the newest addition to Rose Hill Cemetery - flew proudly over the grounds. The flag was a project of the Callaway chapter of Sons of the American Legion. Both the Legion and the Sons chapters also recently installed new flag poles at the cemetery, and the Sons are working on adding a second veterans memorial stone.