As we mark the 70th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War II, one Nacogdoches funeral home is working with a national group that has established a permanent annual day to honor the men and women of the World War II generation – Spirit of ’45 Day.
Constance Engelking of Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors, a Dignity Memorial® provider in Nacogdoches, attended the Spirit of ’45 Leadership Workshop (Feb. 25-27) in Baton Rouge, La., where she received a medallion signifying Cason Monk-Metcalf as a founding member of the National Spirit of ’45 Day – August 14, 2010. Engelking was honored to lay wreaths donated by Greenoaks Memorial Funeral Home, a Dignity Memorial provider in Baton Rouge, at the USS Kidd as part of the workshop’s memorial service.
Engelking’s involvement with Spirit of ’45 Day started last year, when she helped organize a commemoration of the first Spirit of ’45 Day at Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors with a proclamation from Nacogdoches Mayor Roger Van Horn and the attendance of U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, Vision of America’s Lee McDowell, World War II Veteran Ed Smith and local historians Jan Barton and Peggy Jasso.
“It is a privilege to be a part of honoring the Greatest Generation,” said Engelking. “It is my hope that going forward, August 14 will be recognized throughout the country as a day of remembrance and tribute.”
Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors is a proud Dignity Memorial provider in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Dignity Memorial network of more than 1,800 funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers is North America’s most trusted resource for funeral and memorialization services. Dignity Memorial providers offer an unmatched combination of products and locations serving families with care, integrity, respect and service excellence. For more information on Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors, please call (936)564-7333 or visit www.casonmonk-metcalf.com.
KEEP THE SPIRIT OF ’45 ALIVE! is a non-profit, non-partisan initiative to preserve the legacy of the men and women of the Greatest Generation so that their example of courage, self-sacrifice, “can-do” attitude and commitment to community can help inspire a renewal of national unity in America at a time when our country once again must come together to meet historic challenges.
The goal of the KEEP SPIRIT OF ’45 ALIVE! initiative is to establish an annual day of remembrance and national renewal to remind America of the values and accomplishments of the generation who endured the hard times of the Great Depression, fought to defeat the greatest tyranny in history, and then went on to rebuild their shattered world in an unprecedented effort to help assure a better future for both friend and former foe alike. For more information, please visit www.spiritof45.org.
