Editorial: Let's take pride in our troops

• Memorial Day Sendoff

Residents of southwest Minnesota gathered on Memorial Day, May 30, 2011, to honor Alpha Battery First Battalion 125th Field Artillery, as they prepare for a one-year deployment to Kuwait. (Beth Rickers/Daily Globe)

Talk about it

It certainly was a special Memorial Day across our area Monday. Not only did several communities host events that paid tribute to fallen military heroes, but the cities of Luverne and Pipestone got the chance to show their support for the military heroes of today.

Worthington will get a similar opportunity on Thursday. That’s when soldiers in Alpha Battery 1st Batallion 125th Field Artillery — composed of servicemen and servicewomen in the Luverne-Pipestone National Guard — will come through the city at approximately 10:15 a.m.

The soldiers — many of whom hail from our cities in our own backyard — are being deployed the same day to Fort McCoy, Wis., from where they’ll later go to Kuwait for one year. While Alpha Battery 1st Batallion 125th Field Artillery members marched on Monday in Pipestone and Luverne, and will only pass through Worthington by bus Thursday, that should not prohibit us from giving them a worthy sendoff.

Folks are being encouraged to line up along Oxford Street with flags and signs to show their support for the unit. The route will extend from Exit 42 to the intersection of Oxford Street and Diagonal Road, then proceed all the way down Oxford to Exit 45.

Thursday morning is a great chance to show our appreciation for those who serve all of us. It’s also a great chance to take pride in our country — and our community. We hope to see you there.

Tags: opinion, editorials, worthington