TOLEDO, Ohio — Memorial Day has a different meaning for everyone.
For those who have served, they say today is about reflection and remembrance.
WTOL 11 spent part of the day with some local veterans to see how they honor the fallen.
"Memorial Day is a day that we remember those and thank them for their service to our country," Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary President Beverly Benner said.
For local veterans, this day is dedicated to the friends and strangers who aren't with us anymore.
At the VFW Post 2898, members have a ceremony of their own that they say has been a tradition since the VFW opened.
"As long as the VFW has been here. I've been here 30 years myself and I've done it for probably 20 years or more," Post Commander Larry Ingle said.
But before hitting the pool or a backyard BBQ, these veterans say it's their duty to reflect and remember.
First, at their local VFW post, and then at the Ottawa Hills Memorial cemetery.
"Later today, there may be picnics and good times but this morning we are here to remember and pause to thank those veterans who gave their lives for our country," Benner said.
Ingle says the VFW spent the last three days at the cemetery laying flags on all the fallen veteran's headstones.
During these ceremonies, he says he'll be thinking about his family members.
"Just all those who lost their lives. I was in Vietnam and my father was in WWII. And I'll just reflect on the ones who lost their lives," Ingle said.
The members say there are more than 100 local veterans who died this past year and all of them were honored during the ceremonies.