“It was very authentic (and) close to the heart,” said Rick Stacy, chaplain for the Meridian Township Fire Department.

“Real people offering real honor to those (who) served us, and that’s what it’s really all about.”

Members of the Meridian Community Band played a variety of music in between speakers, one of which was retired Lt. Col. Louis Burgess, who discussed what he feels to be the meaning of Memorial Day.

“Remember, we still have young men and women dying serving and that’s what I think is important about Memorial Day,” Burgess said. “Not just serving — a lot of us serve — but they’ve made the ultimate sacrifice and as a nation we need to remember that.”

As he discussed his son being deployed to Afghanistan, he began tearing up.

“It’s an ongoing war, so when my son was deployed we got a lot of ‘Oh, aren’t we out of that war?’” Burgess continued. “You know, people (are) not exactly in tune with it.”

Veteran Arby R. Watkins, attended the Memorial Day Service and Vespers Program for the first time yesterday.

“(It was) very enlightening,” Watkins said. “I was very pleased that as many people showed up … here.”

In addition, Boy Scout Troop No. 109 came to the service to honor the troops. They helped place flags at the grave stones and plan to take care of them next week, as they do every year. The boys also carried the flag away at the end of the ceremony.

“It’s good for the scouts to start to get a sense of the history and know that things have come before us and things have been done before us to allow us to have the lives we have,” Scoutmaster Jon McKay said.

Recent MSU graduate Emily Weiss said she has a grandfather that served in the Navy who she takes time out of her day to remember on Memorial Day.

“I think the importance comes from, especially, if you know people who have served in the military or relatives,” Weiss said. “I know my grandpa was in the Navy for awhile, so just remembering that (and) taking time out of your schedule to remember that is important.”