As a recent "pioneer" to America, Evrian Carrasco felt it necessary to attend a Memorial Day service for genuine pioneers.
Nine months ago, Carrasco, along with his wife, Gudelia, and son, Cesar, moved from Lima, Peru, to the Salt Lake Valley because of a job transfer. Monday, the three of them strolled to the top of the pioneer downtown at This Is the Place Heritage Park for a service among the graves of 32 pioneers.
"We wanted to learn more Memorial Day and the U.S.A.," Carrasco said. "It's a good opportunity to give our remembrances to the old pioneers who came to Salt Lake."
The pioneer bodies buried at the cemetery were found during a 1986 excavation during the construction of a nearby condominium complex, and buried at the park in 1987. During Monday's service, Douglas Ashby, playing the role of Brigham Young, said that while Memorial Day was originally intended to honor
military servicemen and women, the pioneers were members of a different army and should be honored just the same.
"I don't believe any of these people were servicemen, but they were soldiers of the Lord," he said. "They were united in their beliefs . . . and came to a place which no one else wanted."
While applauding the "new" Memorial Day tradition, he urged those attending to reserve more than one day a year to honor the dead. Additionally, flowers should not simply placed on the graves of relatives and friends, but on those graves that may not get the same care.
"Next time you go to put a flower on your relative's grave, bring an extra flower," he said. "Honor those who may have been forgotten."
West Jordan resident Paul Thorup said that he came to the service because his neighbor had enjoyed it last year, and had persuaded them to go this year.
"It was interesting," Thorup said. "(The actors) played their roles really well."
E-MAIL: jloftin@desnews.com