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QUINCY, ILL. -- While most people are preparing for a day off this Memorial Day, veterans say many are forgetting the real reason for day.

The Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy held its annual Memorial Day Program Friday on the lawn of the home. Area residents and veterans heard patriotic music and the roll call of veterans who passed on the past year.

But what strikes most folks here, is how days like Memorial Day which are designed to remember the sacrifices made for our freedoms, are forgotten and lost amongst pool openings and barbeques.

We talked with Sergeant Dustin Clark from Mt. Sterling, the speaker for Friday's program. He was severely injured on Memorial Day in 2007 when his convoy hit an I-E-D. Sgt. Clark says we all need to pause and reflect on the reason for the holiday.

Sgt. Dustin Clark said, "Put out a flag, wear a pin, actually remember what this day is about, opposed to the start of summer or pool openings. Remember why you're able to do these things. Freedom isn't free."

We also spoke with Albert Sohn, a veteran of the Korean War.

He says we have to remember *all* veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, from the Revolutionary War to the men and women still fighting overseas.

Sohn said, "People ought to honor the veterans. People don't even honor the flag anymore. It's hard for the veterans who served and lost their lives."

Memorial Day began back in the years of the Civil War to honor those who died on both sides of the conflict.

Veterans ask that whatever you do on Monday, you pause to reflect on the sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of soldiers over the years.

By the way, as of today, the war in Afghanistan is the longest running war in American history.

Speaking of honoring our soldiers, one of Quincy's hometown heroes came home for the holiday this weekend.  We caught up with Brigadier General Scott Thoele at the Memorial Day Program at the Veterans Home. He says Memorial Day last year he was leading three thousand Illinois Army National Guard troops on a yearlong mission in Afghanistan.

This year is very different for him back in the states and at home.

Brigadier General Thoele said, "Memorial Day is dear to me now because of deployment last year and the casualties we sustained. It's bittersweet. I remember the bad times but it's good to be home."

Now back in the states, Brigadier General Thoele still lives in Quincy, but is stationed at the Army National Guard's Combined Arms Center in Kansas.