UNDATED (KELO AM) South Dakota Veterans Affairs Secretary Larry Zimmerman hopes you remember more than the fallen on Memorial Day.
"Remember the families, because those veterans who went and fought for our freedoms gave the ultimate sacrifice, but the families are here remembering that every day."
U.S. Senator Mike Rounds is, in a sense, a living memorial on Memorial Day.
"I go by Mike, but my real name is Marion Michael Rounds. I was named for an uncle who died in World World Two. He was Marion, named after my grandfather," Rounds says he died on Okinawa in May of 1945, not yet 21 years old.
The families left behind always have special memories, and sometimes, they have memories that deserve to be more widely known.
Back when he was growing up on the farm near Watertown, John DeBerg tinkered around with the throttles on his family's tractors to give them more power. His daughter, Amy DeBerg tells KELO Radio's Its Your Business Show, that when her dad served in World War Two, he did the same thing for B-17 bombers.
"Boeing Aircraft, that designed the B-17 engine, said it shouldn't and couldn't be done. He modified the throttle so that he could help the plane get to protection even on two engines." says DeBerg. John DeBerg died just last October at the age of 98.
U.S. Representative Kristi Noem says South Dakota families can use Memorial Day as a teaching moment for their children.
"My dad served in the National Guard and when I take my kids out to visit his grave, we invariably tell stories about him, stories he told us about his service, and what my grandparents and other family members have told us, and it becomes a reflective time."
(Kevin Larsen, KCCR Radio, Pierre, contributed to this report)