As people across Routt County prepare to honor America’s fallen service members, at least one local veteran hopes folks will take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made.

Dating back to three years after the end of the Civil War, Memorial Day is meant to honor the nation’s fallen soldiers — people like Raymond Whitmore (World War I), William Daugherty (World War II), Frank Finch (Korea) and David Fogg (Vietnam), who all came from Steamboat Springs and died overseas while serving their country.

According to Jim Stanko — an 80-year-old local veteran who is helping to organize the Memorial Day event in Steamboat — all of the aforementioned veterans are buried at Steamboat Cemetery except for Whitmore, whose final resting place is in France.

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“We only have two killed-in-action World War I veterans whose bodies were brought back (to Steamboat Springs),” Stanko said. “Most of the families at that time didn’t because it wasn’t practical and was kind of expensive to bring their bodies back.”

The annual Memorial Day remembrance in Steamboat Springs is set to begin promptly at 11 a.m. Monday, and Maureen Hogue will play traditional songs during the ceremony, which will end with a 21-gun salute and taps.

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With limited parking at the cemetery, Steamboat Transit will offer a free shuttle service from the Stockbridge Transit Center at 1505 Lincoln Ave. to the cemetery. The shuttles will start at 9:30 a.m. and return people to the Transit Center after the event.

Steamboat’s Memorial Day ceremony has been taking place for as long as Stanko can remember, and he still recalls the effect seeing all the flags on the veterans’ gravesites had on him when he as young as five or six years old. For Stanko, it’s a special day that remembers the individuals who paid the ultimate price, while also teaching folks a little bit about their history and honoring veterans in general.

“It’s not only for killed in action,” Stanko said of the Memorial Day ceremony. “It’s to remember all the veterans because we have 312 veterans buried in Steamboat Springs Cemetery going all the way from the Civil War up. It’s to remember that they put their lives on the line. Even though they came home, they all became part of the community and almost every one of them did something significant to make Steamboat the great place it is to live.”

According to Stanko, folks can learn a lot from a veteran’s headstone with many of the markers offering small tidbits about the person, including his or her branch of service, whether they served abroad, information about their family members, and through other notations on the markers.

For Stanko, there’s significant educational value that comes from placing the flags too, as he said event organizers from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars always try to ensure they have people on hand who can share some of the veterans’ individual histories.

“For people, the Boy Scouts or the kids to know when they put a flag on a grave, somebody can just say a little something about that individual, so we try to do that,” Stanko said.

The flags will go up at Steamboat Cemetery on Thursday, May 22, and anyone who would like to help is invited to join by simply showing up at the cemetery at 5:30 p.m.

“This is a solemn occasion and it’s just great for anyone who has an interest in veterans,” Stanko said of putting the flags out.

In addition to the annual ceremony in Steamboat Springs, Memorial Day will be recognized in Hayden, Yampa and Oak Creek.

American Legion Post 189 will host a Memorial Day ceremony in Yampa at 11 a.m. Monday. There will be a reading of the names of the veterans who are buried at the cemetery, and then they will play taps and a 21-gun salute.

American Legion Post 189 will also host a Memorial Day ceremony in Oak Creek starting at 1 p.m. Monday.

In Hayden, American Legion Post 89 will place flags at gravesites in Hayden Cemetery at 5 p.m. Friday. Anyone who wants to help place flags in Hayden is also welcome.

The Memorial Day Ceremony at Hayden Cemetery will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, followed by a free dinner at the American Legion Post, 220 S. Third St.

Immediately after the ceremony in Hayden, there will be a community dinner provided by the Post at the Legion Hut. All are welcome to attend and spend time socializing with Post members, friends and family.