Veterans Day is swiftly approaching, a time to honor the service of American military personnel. For John Kelly and Bob Holliday, this day holds a special significance, as they fondly remember their loved ones who served in the United States military.
For John Kelly, it’s a day of remembrance for his son, Marine Lieutenant Robert Kelly, forever 29 years old. For Bob Holliday, it’s a tribute to his father, Karl Holliday, forever remembered through cherished family photographs as a dashing 26-year-old Army captain.
Both John and Bob are staunch patriots, united by their belief that the American people should never forget the ultimate sacrifices made by U.S. military members. However, they are deeply disappointed by a decision made by the government they hold dear.
They contend that the federal government has made an insensitive blunder by reneging on a promise made to Gold Star families after World War II. The commitment was to facilitate these families’ efforts to remember their 234,000 fallen loved ones, who are interred or commemorated in 26 military cemeteries and memorials across more than a dozen foreign countries.
Until 2015, families of these American heroes could mail a check to a government office in Washington, D.C., to cover the cost of flowers to be placed at the graves of veterans, such as Bob Holliday’s father, Karl Holliday. Karl, a farm kid from Wayne County, lost his life to German gunfire in April 1945 during the closing weeks of World War II. Bob was just 19 months old at the time, too young to retain any memories of his father. With no grave to visit in Iowa, Karl Holliday was laid to rest with 8,000 other servicemen at the American cemetery outside Margraten, Netherlands.
Bob Holliday, now 80 years old, has been unwavering in his efforts to persuade the federal government to reinstate the discontinued floral program. He has rallied people from across the nation who lost a parent in World War II, even enlisting the support of former military leaders like retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly. General Kelly, known for his roles as the Secretary of Homeland Security and White House Chief of Staff under President Donald Trump, has a special connection to families like Bob Holliday’s. His youngest son, 1st Lt. Robert Kelly, perished in Afghanistan in November 2010 after stepping on a hidden explosive while leading a Marine patrol.
Despite being a relatively small expense within a $6 trillion federal budget, the government deemed the flower program too costly and inconvenient to manage. For 40 years, Bob Holliday purchased flowers for his father’s grave through the program three times a year. Sadly, this tradition ended when officials at the American Battle Monuments Commission, the agency responsible for tending to these military cemeteries, concluded that the program had become too burdensome, consuming too much employee time.
Additionally, the agency claimed it couldn’t accept credit card payments, despite the widespread use of credit cards in various aspects of American life, from income taxes to parking meters.
Bob Holliday expressed his indignation over the government’s decision, saying, “Those people buried in those cemeteries, most in their 20s, they died for us and they died for our government. Don’t walk away from that.” He added, “You know how many man-hours I’ve spent thinking about my dad and what he could have been like? Don’t talk to me about man-hours.”
General Kelly shares the same sentiments, though in a more diplomatic manner. In a recent column in the Boston Globe, he emphasized the importance of the floral program, asserting that “The Gold Star families, friends, and next generations growing up here, an ocean away from their loved ones overseas, deserve that support. It’s efficient and the right thing to do. Plus, it’s their job.”
Time may have dimmed the memory of government officials to endure a bit of inconvenience to ensure that flowers from the families of the fallen continue to grace the white grave markers at overseas cemeteries. Yet, the legacy of these heroes, resting in foreign lands, remains undiminished by the passage of time, as their heroic deeds continue to inspire and honor their sacrifice.
