Many of them — about 1 million since the American Revolution — did not come home again.

On Monday, about 150 people gathered beneath a blue sky next to the placid waters of Badger Lake to pay tribute to all those who died fighting for the United States of America. They came together for a traditional Memorial Day observance as the nation emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tom Dorsey, the commander of the Fort Dodge Veterans Council, told those gathered at Veterans Memorial Park that they were there to honor and remember the heroes who died defending this country.

“We honor American heroes from the American Revolution through the Global War on Terrorism, and every battle in between,” he said. “The location is unimportant. It is the hearts of these men and women that truly matters. It is the devotion within that led them to sacrifice their lives for the country that we all love.'”

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
The Karl L. King Municipal Band, directed by Jerrold Jimmerson, plays patriotic music before the Memorial Day ceremony Monday at Veterans Memorial Park.

“It is hard for us — the living — to equate ourselves with those who made such a sacrifice,” he added.

Dorsey noted that the United States has its critics.

“No matter what critics can say about America, can a nation that produces such remarkable men and women be anything but a force for good?” he said.

“War is often not the best policy,” he said. “But the heroes that wars produce are the best of America.”

Monday’s ceremony was loaded with traditional features that were missing last year when the pandemic reduced the Memorial Day observance to a brief event in the parking lot of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856 carry the American flag and the flag of the post into the amphitheater of Veterans Memorial Park at the beginning of the Memorial Day ceremony Monday morning. Members of the Karl King Municipal Band stand in the background.

The Karl L. King Municipal Band played patriotic music for half an hour before the ceremony.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars color guard started the ceremony by bringing the American flag into the amphitheater of Veterans Memorial Park.

Flowers were dropped into Badger Lake to honor those buried at sea.

Scott Johnston read a piece entitled, “How Will You Remember a Soldier?” with musical accompaniment by the band.

Dan Lewandowski, the Webster County veterans affairs director, read the names of all local veterans who died since Memorial Day 2020.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Tom Dorsey, commander of the Fort Dodge Veterans Council, speaks during the Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park Monday.

The Veterans of Foreign wars color guard fired a rifle salute, and the ceremony concluded with the playing of “Taps.”

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Scott Johnston reads an essay entitled "How Will You Remember a Soldier?" with the accompaniment of music by the Karl L. King Municipal Band during Monday's Memorial Day ceremony.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Dan Lewandowski, Webster County veterans affairs director, reads the names of local veterans who died since Memorial Day 2020 during Monday's ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
A crowd of about 150 people filled the amphitheater of Veterans Memorial Park Monday morning for a Memorial Day ceremony. The ceremony returned to the park under clear blue skies after the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the 2020 ceremony to a short event in the parking lot of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1856 fire a rifle salute during the Memorial Day ceremony Monday at Veterans Memorial Park.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Lucas Yoakam, a member of the Karl L. King Municipal Band, plays "Taps" at the conclusion of Monday's Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park.