Molly Sommer waited until both the annual Crown Point Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony were over before she quietly made her way through the gravestones at Historic Maplewood Cemetery.
Sommer, a second-generation piper who lives near the cemetery, played Amazing Grace on her bagpipes while weaving through the graves to pay tribute to those who lost their lives.
Her grandfathers both served in the military but neither is buried in the Crown Point cemetery, Sommer said.
Playing her bagpipes in the cemetery is something she does every Memorial Day.
“I love to do it to pay my respect,” Sommer said on Monday.
Chairs set up for the earlier Memorial Day tribute were removed, and most of the dozens of folks who came to hear the speeches and watch the parade that started at Joliet Street and ended at the cemetery had already left as Sommer played her tribute.
Several people who attended the earlier tribute or came to watch the parade held umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. Some took shelter under trees.
Post 20 Commander Kevin Dvorak delivered greetings during the tribute service, with the invocation and closing prayer by Perry McLemore of Southlake Christian Church.
Dana and Dawn Stewart of Crown Point were honored as a Gold Star Family during a wreath-laying ceremony. Their son USMC Cpl. Ian Wesley died in 2004 while serving his country.
“Twenty-two years later, it’s still hard,” Dawn Stewart said while wiping away her tears.
Speakers at the tribute included Crown Point Mayor Pete Land and U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland.
Keynote speaker Stephany Leonard of Valparaiso told her story of being a veteran, a mom and the widow of a veteran.
She spoke of the heartache of losing her husband, Jesse Meredith, in April 2014.
Meredith, who had served in the U.S. Army National Guard, committed suicide after losing his battle with PTSD, she said.
Leonard, a mother of two who also served with the U.S. Army National Guard, said she kept quiet in the beginning after her husband’s death because it felt easier than trying to explain the pain she barely understood herself.
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“Today, one of the reasons I share my story openly is because I never want another veteran or military family to feel ashamed of struggles they did not choose.”
“I also want to encourage people to seek support sooner than I did. For a long time, I convinced myself I just needed to keep pushing forward, but eventually I learned healing does not happen through silence,” Meredith said.
She said that even after unmanageable pain, life can still hold purpose.
“So today, as we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, I hope we also remember the human side of service — the families behind the uniforms, the struggles that sometimes continue after war, and the lives still quietly fighting battles every single day. Lead with kindness. Be patient with people,” Meredith said.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.