HARLINGEN — Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran Juan Escobar was clear about what Memorial Day is and especially what it isn’t.
It is not a day of celebration or a day off of work, he told a large audience at Veterans Memorial Park yesterday morning. With all the seats filled and people of all ages standing in every area around the park, Escobar was strong with his statements of remembrance, patriotism and love of country.
“Today is a day of prayer,” he said. “It’s a day we remember the many who sacrificed their lives so that we could be a free country. We must also pray for their families who have gone through so much grief and pain. That is why Memorial Day is different than other holidays. It is a special holiday.”
He spoke about Valley heroes and the numbers of soldiers who have died in each of the main wars over the years.
He talked about heroes from Laredo, Edinburg and Rio Grande City.
Escobar also noted Harlon Block, one of the 405,000 soldiers who died in World War II. A U.S. Marine from Weslaco, Block is immortalized raising the flag at Iwo Jima and is buried at the grounds of Harlingen’s Marine Military Academy.
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