“It wasn’t their time to go.” Cedar Falls AMVETs honor those lost in all battles, be it in war or against COVID-19

rom Memorial Day to Flag Day, three hundred flags stand firm just east of AMVETS Post 49 in Cedar Falls. Each flag was purchased by a family that wanted to honor a fallen veteran.

Meeting in-person this year, dozes turned up Monday morning outside the post to commemorate those we've lost. The retiring post commander, Ron Kirkland, says this year stings a bit more.

"We lost members that we shouldn't have. It wasn't their time to go, but the virus caused it," Kirkland said.

Kirkland noticed a lot of fresh graves when he and his wife went to maintain the family gravesites last week. He said it dawned on him that many of those graves could be someone who died from COVID-19, just as several AMVETs members did.

In 2020, the post didn't hold an event due to the pandemic. Kirkland said he was glad his last Memorial Day as commander was held in post.

"We can celebrate life today and mourn the ones we have lost," Kirkland said to the crowd.

Although, the post does face a common challenge among many veterans' groups and that is membership.

"The post needs new members to keep it going," Kirkland said.

He says they're doing okay still, but the concern is there. The Cedar Falls AMVETS post is the largest in the state with more than 800 members, and, according to Kirkland, was the 7th largest in the nation at one point.

Each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces was recognized through the ceremony with wreaths planted by local service members, including Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green, who spent a decade on active duty as a U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer in Alaska and Washington, D.C.

"As those older generations pass on, how we do instill a sense of patriotism, remembrance, and honor for ceremonies like these?" Green said in regards to the future.

Only about 300,000 World War II Veterans are still alive, according to the US Department of Veteran Affairs.

State lawmakers Eric Giddens and Bob Kressig were in attendance, along with US Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Iowa's 1st District. Kressig spoke to ways the post brought the community together and the mental health of veterans.

"Our vets have experienced things that create trauma in their lives," Kressig said. "We need to recognize mental illness is an illness. It's not something someone signs up to do."

Giddens and Hinson both expressed gratitude for the veterans in their families, including Giddens' maternal grandfather who was a POW in World War 2 for 10 months. Giddens said, "it's part of who I am."

Hinson opened her remarks by asking every veteran to stand all together. The crowd responded with raucous applause.

"I think we all know this nation will only remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave," Hinson said.