Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer. But so often, the original purpose of the holiday gets lost amid the cookouts, pool parties and trips to the lake.
Memorial Day is meant to be a day to honor our patriotic heroes who sacrificed their lives for our country.
Newschannel 6 Lindsey Rogers talked with one Wichita Falls war vet who is taking time to remember his time served overseas and comrades who were killed in the line of duty.
At cemeteries across Texoma many take time to remember the fallen.
Some are family members, friends even fellow soldiers who served by their side.
"A lot of sadness because so many of them are already gone and I'm still here," Wesley Mills said.
Mills served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
He was a sergeant first class in the army special forces.
"You wonder how you made it. You stop to think how lucky I was or how good I am," Mills said.
Mills made it, but not without some close calls.
He was shoot three times while serving over seas.
At one point, his comrades even thought he was dead.
"The hard stuff is what makes the easy stuff good. Forget the bad times and just think about the good times. That's what I've learned to do that pretty good," he said.
The 78 year old isn't big on parades or ceremonies but, prefers to honor our war heroes in his own way this Memorial Day.
At home with his three dogs and wife.
"Remember the fallen because they're the ones who didn't have a full life. I was blessed, I did survive and had a full life and if I go tomorrow, I've had a full life," Mills said.
The White House Commission on Remembrance is teaming up with Facebook.
They've developed an app that asks you give up your status to honor a fallen soldier this Memorial Day.
The campaign is designed to remember the more than two million American soldiers who have died in service from the Revolutionary war up to today.
For more information on the Facebook app click here.
