MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Memorial Day is the day set aside to remember our military veterans and how they sacrificed to serve. At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Marana they understand Memorial Day is much more than the kickoff to summer. It is a day of solemn remembrance for everyone who gave their life for our country.
Memorial Day traditions date back to when the death and division of the Civil War were still fresh. The Veterans Administration estimates from the American Revolution to now, about 1.2 Million people died in uniform serving our country.
At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Marana, surviving veterans and their families honor the dead with flags, and with fields of silent gravestones.
On this Memorial Day Roberto Urbina’s mind is on his father, who served in Korea, and on the soldiers Urbina served with in Kuwait.
“I think of my brothers and sisters that I served with, I think of my uncles and my dad that's buried here and my cousin that served with me in Desert Storm and my uncle, they're always on my mind.”
Lynn McIntyre came to the cemetery to remember her uncle—Navy Ensign David Allen Jump. He died after a Japanese submarine sank the USS Indianapolis. The cruiser was coming back from a secret mission to deliver the atomic bomb to the air crews that would drop it on Himoshima. The ship had almost 1200 on board when the torpedoes hit. Some died as the ship sank. Others were in the water four days before anyone knew.
“Only 315 survived, there were several hundred men that went into the water. In between sharks and just the sun and the days that they were there they perished. It was by accident that a reconnaissance plane happened to fly over the area and saw the men in the water.”
Keith Jones leads the Marana Veterans Club. He served two tours in Iraq.
“One person that stands in my mind this weekend is, we lost one of our female soldiers, and she was here from here, from Tucson. Her name was Sergeant Tina Time and we lost her on December 9, 2004 and in Iraq, in action, and so I think about her, and then other friends that never made it home.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
