Jerry Klingelhoets, a 92-year-old veteran, served in Korea, Vietnam and World War II. At 18 years old, he was drafted and served a total of 24 years in the miliary.
For a man who served for so long, Memorial Day is different for him. He remembers it as "Decoration Day."
"When I was a kid we would go to the cemeteries and spruce up the cemeteries for the people who were buried in the military and the other families, too," Klingelhoets said. "We took the weeds out and put flowers on the grave and that's what Memorial Day meant for me."
His brother, father and grandfather served in the military.
He has several medals and ribbons that are now in a display case. He says he can't recall what each of them stand for except for his bronze star. It's something he's most proud of and didn't expect.
"A job that you've done well," Klingelhoets said. "I built aircraft shelters there for one year. We must've built 100 shelters over there (Vietnam) maybe more."
Memorial Day is about remembering history for him.
"It's the thing they do for all the people we lost," Klingelhoets said. "It's a time to remember all the people we lost and pray for them."
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