Photos by Deb Gau Honor Guard members from the Marshall American Legion and VFW salute during a Memorial Day program at Liberty Park. The crosses in the foreground represent Marshall area veterans who died in the past year.

MARSHALL — Memorial Day is often seen as the unofficial beginning of summer, retired Army Maj. Curt Jerzak said. For many people, the holiday means a trip to the cabin or cookouts on the grill.

“This is a great thing, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Jerzak said. “However, it’s about so much more.”

Jerzak urged area residents to reflect on the deeper meaning of the day, and keep the memories of fallen U.S. service members alive.

“Today is not about anybody sitting in our audience,” he said. “It’s about those who are not here today.”

Jerzak gave the keynote address at Monday’s Memorial Day program at Liberty Park.

He grew up farming in the Ivanhoe area, and went on to join the National Guard. He served in three active-duty deployments in the Middle East, as well as in Minnesota for situations like flooding in Granite Falls and response to protests in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd.

But Jerzak said he wasn’t there to talk about his own service. Instead, he said he wanted to remember soldiers he served with who had died. Jerzak talked about veterans like Mitch Olson, whom he worked with on deployment in 2009-10.

“He would always help others out until the work was done,” Jerzak said of Olson.

Jerzak also spoke of soldiers he knew who died while serving their country. He shared memories of 1st Lt. Jason Timmerman, of Tracy. Timmerman, was one of three Minnesota National Guardsmen killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2005.

Jerzak said remembered his last conversations with Timmerman, and the amount of energy Timmerman brought to his work. “Jason had the most electric smile,” Jerzak said.

Jerzak said Timmerman’s example was a big influence on him, especially as Jerzak became a commissioned officer. “I will never forget his sacrifice,” he said.

Jerzak also reflected on the history of the Memorial Day holiday. Originally called Decoration Day, the holiday was started in 1868, as a time to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers. During World War I, the scope of Memorial Day was expanded to honor the dead from all U.S. wars. More than 135,000 people visit Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day each year, he said.

It was important to keep sharing the stories of fallen service members, Jerzak said.

“Tell their stories,” he urged area residents. “Let their stories live on forever, so their memory may not be forgotten.”