The Men and Women Behind Memorial Day

Stan Sullivan of the 107th Cavalry and his horse, 'Cincy'

Every Memorial Day, Americans gather for parades, cookouts, ballgames, and long weekends with family and friends. For many of us, the holiday has become the unofficial start of summer.

But Memorial Day was never really meant to be about a day off. At its heart, Memorial Day is about people.

Not famous generals or figures from history books, but ordinary men and women who answered the call during extraordinary moments in history. Young people pulled from farms, factories, schools, and neighborhoods who suddenly found themselves thousands of miles from home in places they had never imagined.

My grandfather, Stan Sullivan, was one of them.

He was drafted in January of 1941, nearly a year before the United States officially entered World War II after Pearl Harbor. He served with the 107th Cavalry and spent years overseas during the war. When he passed away in 1996, he left behind something our family treasures deeply: more than 250 letters exchanged between him, my grandmother, and relatives back home.

Every now and then, I pull those letters out and read through them again.

One in particular has always stayed with me. Dated May 4, 1945 — just days before Germany officially surrendered — the letter was written somewhere in Germany as my grandfather moved with the 7th Army through the shattered remains of Nazi Germany.

Transcription Below

In it, he describes destroyed cities, refugees from concentration camps, and the emotional weight of seeing firsthand what war had done to both Europe and humanity itself.

“Such cities as Saarbrucken, Mannheim, Ulm and many others… are all but completely destroyed.”

“I have seen refugees that have been in concentration camps and the pictures you have no doubt seen are every bit true.”

Those lines hit hard because they are understated. War and its horrific scenes in the background of letters written to his parents at home here in Cincinnati.

And then he mentions a story of a Jeep being parked on him- a perfect reminder that war was often chaos and luck.

"I’m positively the luckiest guy in the world"

Memorial Day is not really about history in the abstract. It is about memory and remembering that the freedoms and comforts we often take for granted were carried forward by ordinary people asked to endure extraordinary things.

Men and women like my grandfather did not see themselves as heroes. Most simply believed they were doing what needed to be done. It was their duty.

This Memorial Day, I’m grateful not only that he came home, but that he left behind these letters — reminders that behind every war, every memorial, and every flag placed beside a grave was a real human being with fears, hopes, family, and a life waiting back home.

I understand that Memorial Day was established first and foremost to honor the men and women of the military who gave their lives in service to the country. At its heart, the day is meant to remember sacrifice — those who never came home from war, whose futures and families were forever altered by their service.

But for many Americans, Memorial Day has also become something more personal: a time to remember fathers, grandfathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends who served their country and have since passed on. While the holiday’s original purpose should never be forgotten, many families use the day to reflect not only on those lost in battle, but on the generations of veterans whose lives, stories, letters, photographs, and memories still shape the people they left behind.

He is just one of the many men and women we are to remember and pay our respects to on this Memorial Day.

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Loveland will honor Memorial Day on Monday, May 25, 2026, with a day of remembrance that includes a parade, ceremony, cemetery visits, and a community picnic. The annual Memorial Day Parade begins at 9:00 a.m. at Loveland Elementary School on Loveland-Madeira Road and will travel through Historic Downtown before ending at the Veterans Memorial. Road closures are expected between approximately 8:45 and 10:15 a.m.

Immediately following the parade, a Memorial Day Ceremony will take place at the Loveland Veterans Memorial at the intersection of West Loveland Avenue and Riverside Drive. A military flyover is scheduled for approximately 9:45 a.m., and decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran Chris Cravens will serve as the featured speaker.

Following the ceremony, the community is invited to visit local cemeteries to honor fallen service members, with stops scheduled at Maineville Cemetery, Union Cemetery, and Kerr Cemetery. The day will conclude with a public community picnic at 2:00 p.m. hosted by American Legion Post 256 on Oakland Road.

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Transcript of Letter:

Somewhere in Germany 4 May 1945

Dear Folks:

Sorry to have neglected to write for such a long time. This is my first letter in at least two weeks and I’m happy to have the opportunity to write.

For some time now we have been with the 7th Army in Southern Germany and Austria. Since our arrival in Germany, we have been kept almost constantly on the move. We have had quite a part in keeping the k---s on the run and from all indications it’s all over but the shouting. I wish I could be in Cincy to add to the noise. I have been in many cities in Germany and believe me they have many sad memories of this war. By this I mean the people of Germany will have these sad memories. Such cities as Saarbrucken, Mannheim, Ulm and many others, smaller in size, are all but completely destroyed. Our artillery, Air Corps and advancing foot troops have really shown the German people what war really is and just what some people have been exposed too for 5 and 6 years while the German people have been living comparatively unaware and ignorant of the suffering that had befallen occupied countries these long years. I have seen refugees that have been in concentration camps and the pictures you have no doubt seen are every bit true. It is difficult for people such as we to realize how any supposedly civilized nation could be so cruel in their treatment of human beings. The J-ps were known to be barbaric but few truly believed all tales told of the German treatment of civilians and soldiers alike. It seems unjust for God to leave Hitler die before being brought before a world court but on the other hand it’s probably best. No doubt the simple German farmer and even the more intelligent ones will proclaim Hitler a hero and erect a great monument in his favor, but we people know that he was probably the greatest criminal of all time.

On the 29th of April I was sleeping by the side of the road just after our column had halted around noon. I woke up and found the left rear wheel of a “Jeep” resting on my left side and chest. A gang of guys lifted the vehicle off me and I had great difficulty breathing. I thought I was badly hurt and that my chest was crushed but after a 66 mile ride to a hospital that wasn’t there I learned that no bones were broken and that my lungs and heart were OK. Only ill effects was sore and stiff muscles. I’m positively the luckiest guy in the world.

All for now, more tomorrow if I get time.

Your son, Stanley