Today is Memorial Day, the day that Americans commemorate lives lost in war and combat. As in previous years, someone from Holliston has placed markers and flags along the main roads in town. Each hand-lettered sign has the name and age of the soldiers, marines and sailors who were recently killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the state or country where they lived.
It’s quite an affecting thing to see the miles of signs, flags, names and ages as I drive home from work. The names don’t leave much of an impression usually. But the ages definitely do. So many of them are so young. And this year more than in many years past — because of the surge of violence in Afghanistan — the dead were from many different countries.
It seemed to me the only way to really convey the experience of seeing all of those signs was to walk along parts of Routes 16 and 126 in Holliston and photograph each of the signs that I saw along the way. Here are 100 or so, as well as a few random scenes along the way to give a sense of what Holliston is like the rest of the year. (You can click any photo for a larger version.)
If you’re in the military, thank you for your service. And please stay safe.
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wow, that is really affecting – thanks for the photos.