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War Dead Honored at Fort Douglas

Dan Bammes
Soldiers from the Utah Army National Guard place a wreath in honor of the war dead buried at Ft. Douglas

  Services honoring America’s war dead were held in dozens of cities around Utah today. About a hundred people gathered at the Fort Douglas Cemetery in Salt Lake City.

Soldiers from the Utah National Guard led the service at Fort Douglas.  Brigadier General DallenAtack recognized the sacrifice of veterans from the Civil War through the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan who are buried there, as well as the service of a returning Utah Guard unit he plans to greet at Fort Dix, New Jersey in just a few days.

Speaking to the crowd, Atack said, “These young men and young women, just like everybody else that’s in uniform today, whether it be Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard, are doing so voluntarily, each one of them having raised their hand and volunteered during  a time of war.”

The dignitaries then placed a wreath to honor the war dead at Fort Douglas while an honor guard fired a salute.  Shauna Holladay’s grandparents are buried there.

“I guess it’s important for us to bring our kids," Holladay told KUER, "They were really young when we got out of the Army, and so it’s important to us to share that with them.”

The service also recognized the 54 prisoners of war from Germany, Italy and Japan who are buried at Fort Douglas. 

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