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Maplewood Cemetery once again hosted Luverne’s annual Memorial Day ceremony with the American Legion and VFW, accompanied by the Luverne High School band.
LHS 1980 graduate Michael Welch was the featured speaker and spoke about his 21 years in the U.S. Navy and his experiences aboard a U.S. Naval submarine.
He also talked about what it meant to be American, and introduced 15-year-old Sahira Abraham, daughter of Welch’s interpreter in Afghanistan.
“Without our interpreters, we as American soldiers couldn’t have gotten anything done,” Welch said.
When Abraham’s family came to the United States seven years ago, daily living improved dramatically.
“When they moved into an apartment, the first thing he wanted to know was how far it was to get water,” Welch said. “Where they lived, they didn’t have electricity or running water.”
As a Muslim American teen, Abraham now lives in Vermillion, South Dakota, but she spent her early years in southeastern Afghanistan in a province where the Taliban was initiated.
On Monday she talked about the freedoms she enjoys as a U.S. citizen versus what it was like to live where she wasn’t free to be herself or even attend school.
“When I moved to the United States, the chains around me finally broke loose,” she said. “The America I believe in offers freedom and a chance to realize dreams better than anywhere else in the world.”
She said Americans shouldn’t take peace and security for granted because not everyone has that privilege.
“I love the fact that each morning I wake up and each night I go to bed feeling secure … America has greatly invested in protecting its citizens, and if that’s not enough, America goes on to protect the rest of the world,” Abraham said.
“I believe in America, not just because it sends its soldiers to other parts of the world, but because they have sacrificed themselves so that others can enjoy the peace they have at home.”
The Maplewood Cemetery Memorial Day event was among several throughout Rock County Monday.
Hills, Hardwick and Beaver Creek also had ceremonies, and a candlelight vigil Monday night honored veterans at the Rock County Veterans Memorial on the courthouse lawn.