- Families gathered at Utah Veterans Memoiral Cemetery on Memorial Day to honor veterans.
- Phyllis Eardley and Michelle Jamison visited to remember their Navy veteran relatives.
- Families also left flowers, flags and reflected on the significance of veterans' service and sacrifice.
BLUFFDALE — Thousands of American flags lined the grounds of the Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park on Memorial Day, each one marking a life, a sacrifice, and a story.
For many families who visited Monday, the holiday meant more than just a day off of work.
"It really does. It really does," said Phyllis Eardley, who lives in Riverton. "My dad, my brother-in-law, my husband, my brother, they all served."
Eardley came to the cemetery to visit her brother, David Memory, a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War.
"Lovely name, isn't it," she said of her brother. "He's been gone a long time, but he was a veteran and he was proud."
Standing among rows of American flags waving in the breeze, Eardley said the display brought tears to her eyes. "It's beautiful. It just makes my heart swell because we need more patriotism," she said.
Nearby, Michelle Jamison knelt beside her father's headstone, carefully painting black into the engraved letters to make his name stand out more clearly.
Her father, Michael Wiss, also served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.
"He died way too young. He was only 59 years old, so we lost him way too early," Jamison said. "It's been 21 years this July."
Jamison said she visits often, not just on Memorial Day.
"I'm probably out here six-plus times a year, if not more. I was just here a couple weeks ago for his birthday," she said.
For her, being among others who understand what service to country truly means, it made him feel even closer.
"I think it would mean a lot to him to see everybody and see that it's more than just one family that does it," she said. "It means a lot to everybody."
As families walked the cemetery grounds, some left flowers, others gathered together, and many simply stood quietly, taking in the rows of flags.
For Eardley, the meaning of the day is simple and lasting.
"It's good that we take a special day to remember them," she said. "No, I never forget."
