ALTON, Ill. – As Richard Baird walks through Alton’s National Cemetery, he can’t help but think about the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Every step I take, I think of a veteran that’s given their life,” Baird said.

Every Memorial Day is special for the Vietnam veteran but the last 19 have had a special place in his heart.

“This is the least I feel like I can be doing,” he said.

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Baird is the creator and organizer of the Memorial Day Sunset Ceremony at the Alton National Cemetery. Baird’s passion for the cemetery began in 2001, when he and his wife began tending to small gardening and cleaning needs around the grounds. Eventually, in 2006, Baird began the Memorial Day ceremony at the cemetery.

“This is a very special moment for me each year,” Baird said.

On Monday, fellow veterans and community members came together to remember men and women who served in the armed forces from World War I to World War II and even the Civil War. There are hundreds of veterans, along with their spouses, buried at the cemetery in Alton. Nickolas McCauley is one of the Air Force Junior ROTC members leading the honorary color guard.

“For me personally, it is a real big honor to do it and it’s even a bigger honor to lead it,” McCauley said.

Baird will continue the tradition every Memorial Day for years to come and when he’s ready to retire, his son, who is a local principal, is ready to take over.

“The most I can be doing is to do it until I can do it no longer,” Baird said. “It’s an amazing thing because I know how much blood, sweat, etc. has gone into it.”

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