Memorial Day Looks Different Under COVID-19 Restrictions

FARMINGTON, Utah — Overall, the Memorial Day holiday looked much different this year — with many events cancelled or adapted to follow state guidelines — but families still found a way to honor their fallen service members.

“Memorial Day is remembering our fallen,” said Antionette Stapley, a gold star wife. “We don’t want to forget them.”

Stapley’s husband, Army 1^st Sergeant Tracy L. Stapley, was killed while serving overseas in 2013.

This Memorial Day, Sgt. Stapley was one of 282 names and faces that were printed on yard signs that decorated Station Park in Farmington.

Major Taylor’s name and picture is one of 282 up at Station Park in @FarmingtonCity, honoring the military men and women who died while serving. #MemorialDay @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/4M7duFhN9d

— Matt Rascon (@MattRasconNews) May 25, 2020

“He was going to come home and retire, but he came home differently,” Stapley said of her husband.

And it was that sad return home that prompted Stapley to organize Operation Hero, an organization that until this year, had displayed the boots of hundreds of Utah’s fallen heroes each Memorial Day. The idea was to teach, share stories, and honor service men and women.

“He was always giving back and helping others, so what better way to continue his legacy than to do the same,” Stapley said. “As a gold star family that means more than you would even know to be able to talk about their hero.”

This year though, Stapley said the virus restrictions prevented her from doing a boot display inside. So instead, they set up 282 yard signs and 50 flags all over Station Park.

“We’re spread out. We got the yard signs,” she said, adding, “It’s not as intimate.”

Several miles away in South Jordan, there was another different, but still moving memorial display.

“This year with the social distancing guidelines, we wanted to still make Memorial Day really special and honor the gold star veterans and their families, so we created a walk around our park,” Kim Quiroz said. “Keep that social distancing, but still be able to honor the spirit of Memorial Day.”

Families in the neighborhood created homemade posters, highlighting the lives and sacrifices of service men and women who died.

In some ways, the absence of their typical Memorial Day breakfast, face painting, and other activities in the neighborhood made the holiday even more meaningful.

“This year it’s special because it’s only about the fallen, and that’s what will bring the families here,” Quiroz said. “And I love that people, despite all the fun things that the kids have, they come because they want to learn and to remember.”

We may not always fully appreciate the sacrifice of those who died fighting for the freedoms we enjoy, but event organizers have shown that even in these circumstances, it’s a sacrifice that no restriction can keep us from remembering.

“The feeling when you walk through and you look at the signs, it still tugs at your heart,” Stapley said, speaking of this year’s new display. “You know that someone’s lost a hero.”