DAYTON — Many visit cemeteries to honor their lost loved ones on Memorial Day, but one widow says she celebrates her late husband every day.
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Kathy McGuire was one of the many people gathered at the Dayton National Cemetery for the Memorial Day ceremony.
“Death is not the end,” McGuire said.
A 21-gun salute and the National Anthem rang through the cemetery Monday as McGuire was surrounded by more than 60,000 headstones, serving as a reminder of the cost of freedom.
McGuire said she lost her husband, Air Force Officer Mike McGuire, when he was on a mission in England.
“This weekend has been emotional, like every year. I remember him daily. If not more,” McGuire said.
Officer McGuire and his partner made a quick decision to save an entire village, but did not return home.
“Unfortunately, they were too low for the ejection parachute to deploy, and they lost their lives in that incident,” McGuire said.
Officer McGuire is one of the thousands of soldiers whose resting place have a tiny flag in honor of their service to their country this Memorial Day.
His widow spoke for him and said that despite his tragic outcome, he’d serve his country in every lifetime.
“He was behind the flag, behind the country, and in that cockpit. He would do it again,” McGuire said.
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