BOZEMAN - Two thousand, six hundred thirty-two flags. Each one placed with purpose at the Sunset Hills cemetery in Bozeman. Each one marking a name, a life, a legacy.
For the Gold Star families those left behind the grief doesn’t end when the battle does.
WATCH: Remembering Our Heroes: Bozeman’s Heartfelt Memorial Day Ceremony
“My brother Nicholas Bloem, he was killed in Iraq. He was in the Marine Corps. I have nine siblings and he was taken too soon,” said Victoria Bloem.
Victoria was just 13 when her brother died the day after his 20th birthday.
At the service, each Gold Star family member was given a single rose, a simple gesture for a complex, lingering loss.
“Today we come together to give thanks, and to honor, and to remember these families and their fallen… because when you are a Gold Star family, every day is Memorial Day,” said one veteran speaker at the event.
“I close with this from the Roman poet Virgil: No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”
For some, the wounds are still fresh, like one widow, Nicole Kardoe, who lost her husband, a father of six, to lymphoma.
“As we remember our heroes today, Memorial Day, as our family approaches three years without Michael… I am honored to look out at all of you and to add you to our love story. I am on our side,” Nicole says.
For Victoria, seeing the community show up means everything.
“Like I said, it’s a great community… but seeing all these people come out and support those who didn’t make it home. It’s a really great thing to see,” Victoria says.
She says remembrance isn’t just about grief, it’s about gratitude.
“Have a good weekend, but remember what it’s about,” Victoria says.
