SANDPOINT — Most veterans didn’t join the military to be a hero. Words like sacrifice, duty and honor were just that, words, albeit grand heroic words thrown about in their favorite movies, but nothing more than that.

Nobody thought that way, Air Force veteran Dan Young told crowds gathered at both Pinecrest and Lakeview cemeteries to pay tribute to the community’s servicemen and women and those who gave their lives in its defense.

“They say, ‘well we fought for our country.’ I wasn’t fighting for my country, that sounded silly to me,” Young said. “I tell you what I was fighting for and then it will make sense to you.”

On the weekends, everyone would go downtown and cruise the streets, starting at the courthouse, heading down First Avenue, down to City Beach, circle around, head back out, go past the Panida, then up Cedar and then do it all again.

“What you were really hoping for was that you’d hook up with some cute girl at Connie’s Cafe and an apple pie with cinnamon sauce before the night was over,” he said. “I was fighting for that. The greasiest hamburger in town. The dances at the Community Hall. All those things we share and know about here.”

While everyone may not know everyone in town, or even the folks across the street at the parade, Young said he bet that if 100 people were placed on a boat and started talking and pretty soon, through conversations about Lost in the ’50s, events at the fairgrounds, or other community happenings, people would discover they have a lot of people in common.

“I fought for those things,” he said. “Here’s the interesting part, and how it all makes sense. The guy next to you, the guy over here next to you, the ones around you, they’re fighting for something similar. And when you put it together, you’ve just quilted all of our hometowns across this country, small, large, and medium. Together, we fought like brothers, we fought like family and some of them fought to their last, dying breath. Put it all together and it was for America.”

On Memorial Day, at events similar to those at Lakeview and Pinecrest, people gathered togethered, creating sparks in each community.

“People are gathering in large communities, small communities like ours, and they’re doing the same thing we’re doing,” added Young. “They’re taking time to pause to reflect and remember and to model to the younger members of our families that this is what we do. We’re Americans and, by God, we’re proud of those people.”

It is worth sharing, not just on Memorial Day, those memories with each other, in our groups, in our families and in our organizations. It is important to share those stories of the community’s veterans, of their service and their passion for their communities, Young said.

“A day like today isn’t a day where people get together and mourn those who have been lost,” he added. “It’s a day when we get together and we praise those who have been lost. People say ‘well, it’s not just about a barbecue.’ I say, hell yes, when you get done here, have a barbecue, open up a cold one, burn something on the grill and think about those people who can’t be there because, by God, they would love to be at that barbecue. That’s part of what they protected and defended. Our life.”

And in return, Young said we can give them something in return. Everyone can fight to make sure Veterans Affairs hospitals have the most up-to-date care. Everyone can make sure the families are taken care of and have everything they need but it will take everyone.

“It’s Memorial Day,” he concluded. “Your very presence, it made a difference in hearts of veterans, it made a difference in the hearts of widows. Just your presence and not seeing the same 30 people made for glad hearts today. I am proud to be an American. Get out today. Gather with the people that you love, spend some time with them.”