Today for the families who spent their Monday at Houston National Cemetery, the holiday carries a much deeper meaning.
Thousands of flags lined the grounds, each representing a veteran, and the family left behind to carry their memory forward.
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For Kristi Capuano, the visit was doubly personal. Her father’s birthday falls on Memorial Day, making the annual trip to the cemetery both a holiday observance and a family celebration.
“We try to come out for his birthday, and for Memorial Day, which happens to be on the same day, so 2 in 1,” Capuano said.
She remembered her father not just for his service, but for the humor he passed down through generations.
“We get the humor from him, try to pass that onto my kids. They think I’m goofy at times,” she said.
Capuano also reflected on the weight that each flag on the grounds carries.
“Every single one of these flags is a story,” she said.
Bruce Wright came to honor both his mother and his father, a Korean War veteran, buried at the cemetery.
“This is my mom and dad buried here. My father was a veteran, he served in the Korean War,” Wright said.
For Wright, the true meaning of Memorial Day is something he worries is slipping away in modern culture.
“In my personal opinion, I think a lot of it’s lost in the celebration. You know? People think of barbecue, or days off from work and everything like that. But, this is it. This is my memorial celebration right here, thinking about my father and all the veterans that I passed,” he said.
Wright didn’t confuse why that matters.
“We have the freedoms we have, because of the people that are here,” he said. “This is important. This can’t be forgotten.”