To further fulfill this year’s Leadership San Antonio class focus of civic and community engagement, LSA43 Class Members, Steering Committee Members, and their families joined hundreds of volunteers to place American flags at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery this past Friday, to prepare for the Memorial Day weekend. This annual patriotic event honoring our American Heroes who have died in service to our Nation, included scouts from the Alamo Area Boy Scout Council, youth groups, military service members, and other community service organizations.
The event began with an official flag ceremony and opening assembly with welcome remarks and instructions on how best to place the flags. Each volunteer respectfully placed a flag at each headstone, numbering more than 115,000.
“It was an honor to lay flags at Fort Sam alongside our active duty soldiers who knelt down in a moment of respect before carefully placing the American flag in front of each grave,” said Alison Wiesenthal, Chief, Palliative Care Services at Brook Army Medical Center and LSA43 Class Member. “Seeing the names of all our brave servicemen and women and the loved ones who supported them brought new meaning to the words “Memorial Day.” Wiesenthal’s own grandfather Lt Ted Miles served in World War II as an Army Air Corps Pilot.
“We as a Nation are forgetting the true meaning of Memorial Day. It’s a day of solemn recognition of those that sacrificed their lives,” says Richard Delgado, Jr., Director of Military Affairs and Army ROTC at Texas A&M University- San Antonio, US Marine Corps Veteran and current LSA43 Class Member.
Many LSA Members have family ties to the Fort Sam National Cemetery and to Veterans who have served our Nation proudly, as well as personally serving themselves. We continue to be grateful for those who volunteer to protect our freedom and their families who stand alongside them, and we are grateful to those who have paid the ultimate price.
For more information on Leadership San Antonio (LSA), please contact Lori Stinson, Chamber Vice President of Military Affairs and Leadership Development, at 210-229-2122 or email lstinson@sachamber.org.
