Cemeteries across the nation are dressed in their Sunday finest for this weekend's holiday. The stars and stripes wave above marble monuments adorned with pink peonies and lavender gladiolas. Memorial Day, or "Decoration Day" to old-schoolers, kicks off each summer with a somber reminder of those who gave of their lives to ensure our freedom to enjoy all the beauty that the United States of America has to offer. 

There's a cemetery in Lincoln County, nestled in the Platte valley ribbon that separates the Sandhills up north from the cedar canyons to the south. My wife and I turned off of I-80 one year on Memorial Day and pulled the car to a stop inside the confines of Nebraska's only National Cemetery, Fort McPherson.

The first thing that I noticed was the solemn quiet of the place. A hush fell over the grounds that reminded me of drill and ceremony training back in Army basics. White stones stood at parade rest in perfect rank and file, as if anticipating orders from the First Sergeant. But there was only silence.

Unlike other cemeteries, the individual graves were simply adorned with a single, small American flag. Each soldier is equal in the end, giving all they have to keep America, America.

The air was spring fresh, but I swear that I could smell a hint of cordite-the smoke from a spent tank round.

Let us remember and be grateful for the men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we can relax with a glass of iced tea under an umbrella in our neatly mowed backyards this weekend.