As shots from honor guard rifles pierced the air at the Philadelphia National Cemetery, the tears flowing from the eyes of many in the audience left no doubt of Memorial Day's significance to them.
For amid the rows of white graves lined with American flags, approximately seventy veterans and family members of those who perished in service to a grateful nation came to pay tribute.
"We, as free Americans, can choose to go to the beach, cook a burger or go shopping today, but I ask you to put those pleasantries aside to remember the warriors of peace who made these freedoms possible," Alice Raatjes, associate director for the Department of Veterans Affairs, said at the ceremony.
Raatjes also asked those in attendance to take the time to thank a war veteran at their next opportunity, for only about 3,000 World War I veterans are still alive. This is in addition to a current population of just 5 million World War II veterans, which once numbered 16 million.
Samuel Blow, the commander of the Philadelphia County Council for Disabled American Veterans and an Army veteran, recalled the contributions of his fallen comrades.
"Let us not think for a moment what this country would be like if these brave men and women had not given the ultimate sacrifice," Blow, who fought in the Dominican Republic and Persian Gulf conflicts, said.
Although Philadelphians marked the holiday at this cemetery near the city's West Oak Lane section, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near Society Hill and at a parade in Bridesburg, many questioned how grateful the nation really was to those who had died in battle.
"Out of 365 days of the year, there's only four days of the year that they recognize veterans," said Korean War veteran George Bailey, referring to Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Flag Day and Veterans Day.
Bailey also challenged the appropriateness of many stores being open on Memorial Day.
"I drove past Sam's Club this morning, and they were waiting in line to get in the store," he said. "No one's waiting in line to get into the cemeteries."
The mood was just as intense at the Vietnam memorial, a smaller version of the national memorial, which lists the names of Philadelphia's deceased soldiers in granite panels.
"I came out here to spend time with my brothers whose names are on the wall behind me," said Vietnam veteran Harry McKay.
McKay expressed his disappointment in seeing few elected officials present at that afternoon's service at the Vietnam memorial. City Controller Jonathan Saidel, the chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, agreed.
"I think if you're sworn to uphold the law, I think that you have a responsibility to be with your people at a time of memorial," Saidel, who has spoken at the ceremony in the past, said. "That's why it's called Memorial Day, and why it's not just another time to go down to the shore."
The memorial was adorned with flowers taped beside the names of loved ones, and by offerings of wreaths and poems.
Yet to some at the Vietnam memorial, those gifts could not appease the memories of war.
"I'm a coward hero -- I didn't die," said Vietnam veteran Michael Poltorak.
But at the Philadelphia National Cemetery, Mandi Shaw finally found significance in the day.
"My dad was a Vietnam vet -- he just passed away," she said. "It's the first time it meant anything to me."
