Madison Fire Department honors fallen heroes visiting county cemeteries

MADISON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) - Memorials to fallen heroes are taking place all over the region. In Madison County, the fire department has spent the morning going to various county cemeteries to honor the fallen with a special ceremony Monday.

At 9 a.m. Monday, the department band was at the Plano and Sutton cemeteries in Archer. They then went to the Burton and Sugar Cemeteries 9:50 a.m. Finally, the department visited the Rexburg Cemetery where bagpipers will be meeting and playing.

For the Madison Fire Pipe Brigade, the memorial services is their way of giving back to a community that has given them so much.

"That's Madison Fire Department Bagpipe Brigade's vision. And what better way to give back to the community and help them honor their family members that are deceased or have gone before and given their ultimate sacrifice. So a perfect example of this is at the sugar cemetery. A gentleman shared with me that he spent time with his brother in Scotland, but his brother is no longer with him, and with tears in his eyes, he shared how touching it was to hear the bagpipes again," said Robert Kohler, the Vice President of the Pipe Brigade.

He said for him, bagpipe music has a way of unifying people.

"For me and I think for a lot of other people, the bagpipe really touches the soul. It's a very unique instrument and it really brings a lot of people together in a good way."

Daniel Evaldson and his family made it a point to catch one of the pipe brigade's performances as part of their holiday.

"We try to make it a habit as a family to every year catch a memorial service somewhere. And we've traveled to different places to do that."

He said it has helped him and his family remember that while all gave some...some gave all.

"I don't know a better way to honor and to reverence those that have gone before,  as I have been here today, thinking about, you know,  what we're doing, there are several headstones here in the cemetery of people that are specifically mentioned that they were killed in action or that they were in, World War Two and different wars. And  I just can't imagine what it would be like to lose somebody like that. And also to  fight for the freedoms and liberties that we have in this country."