Under sunny skies with a gentle breeze, residents showed their respect as tribute was paid by a motorcycle procession, wreath placement on the veterans monument by the VFW Post 753 Auxiliary, rifle salute by the VFW Post 753 and Taps by John Witteman. The Minot Air Force Base Honor Guard presented the colors.

“Many of us here have served,” said Hammer, who served with the Marines. “Some of us have children or other friends or loved ones who have served or are now serving. Some of us have lost someone special to us or our family on the battlefields of Iraq or Afghanistan, Vietnam or Korea or one of the many other places where Americans have gone in harm’s way. I went to Iraq. My brother went to Afghanistan.”

He said his brother was the medic on scene on Dec. 3, 2012, when the 818th Engineer Company of Williston hit an improvised explosive device (IED). Sgt. 1st Class Darren M. Linde of Devils Lake and Spc. Tyler J. Orgaard of Bismarck were killed in action, and another soldier was wounded. Everyone connected to the 818th was affected, from the guardsmen who were in the convoy to family and loved ones back home, Hammer said.

“This day is about people like Sergeant First Class Linde and Specialist Orgaard. It is about remembering and honoring their sacrifice. But how do we best do that? What do we owe them?” Hammer said.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN John Witteman plays Taps at Minot’s Memorial Day program in Rosehill Memorial Park Monday, May 25.

Hammer referenced his previous Memorial Day addresses, in which he talked about how people treat each other as Americans.

“I posited that the way we best honor those we’ve gathered for today is by being better citizens and better neighbors. We give what we owe to those who died for our country by giving what we owe to each other,” he said.

He quoted author T.M. Scanlon, who says what we owe each other is to be reasonable.

“Once in a while you run into someone who is slightly disagreeable or who says things that seem a bit untethered from reality. It is very tempting at those times to be dismissive. If that person is angry or confrontational, it’s tempting to reflect that anger. It is hard, in those moments, to remain reasonable, but if you get curious instead of angry, you almost always get to a place where you can talk to each other like reasonable people,” he said.

Even with people who seem never reasonable, there is a high road, he said.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Jim Weaver, back, and Gene Potter, front, with the DAV salute the colors as they are retired at the close of the Memorial Day program in Rosehill Memorial Park cemetery Monday, May 25.

“It’s hard to believe that we owe that person anything. But it’s not nearly as hard as it was for our vanquished heroes to leave their loved ones and go into harm’s way for our country. It is not as hard as it was for Sergeant First Class Linde and Specialist Orgaard to risk rolling over an IED. Rising above our first instinct is not as hard as it was for Linde’s and Orgaard’s loved ones to learn that they had been killed half a world away from North Dakota. It’s not as hard as it was for their friends and fellow soldiers in the unit, whether or not they were on the road that evening, to deal with the loss of their friends and fellow soldiers,” Hammer said.

“We are here today because we know that we owe a debt to our fallen warriors,” he added. “We say that they gave their lives for their country. So, it only makes sense that we honor them by giving something of ourselves, by accepting that we all owe something to our fellow Americans and to our fellow human beings.”

The program included members of the Minot Chamber Chorale, who sang the National Anthem, and Minot Police Chaplain DeVawn Beckman, who offered opening and closing prayers. Master Sgt. Maria Dezotell with Minot AFB served as master of ceremonies.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN A group of motorcyclists are among a larger convoy that paraded through Rosehill Memorial Park at the opening of the Memorial Day program to pay tribute to local veterans who sacrificed their lives for their country.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Retired Maj. Trygve Hammer delivers the Memorial Day address in Minot’s Rosehill Memorial Park Monday, May 25.

JILL SCHRAMM/MDN The Minot Air Force Base Honor Guard carries the colors at the opening of the Memorial Day program in Rosehill Memorial Park in Minot Monday, May 25.