Old and young alike stood, sang and listened to pay their respects to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise Monday morning.
"They did a rifle salute and the cannon salutes and the fly-overs, those were my favorite parts," Parker Anson, 8, said.
Korean War veteran Bill Dumas served in the United States Marine Corps from 1948 to 1951. Dumas traveled from Utah to spend Memorial Day with his family.
"I just think about the guys I knew, where they are and what they are doing at this point in life, if they're doing," Dumas said.
During his service, Dumas worked as an attaché for decorated Marine Corps Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller.
"It was a great time in my life," he said. "I thoroughly enjoyed the Marine Corps."
While the stories of time spent overseas abound at ceremonies such as the one held at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, they are accompanied by a solemn sense of loss and heartache for those who never returned home.
"I just love being here and knowing that our country is being saved by a lot of great people," Dylan Woodward, 11, said.
