The blessings of Easters of the past

My earliest Easter memory was in Basin. Mom sewed dress-up clothes for us to wear to church on Sunday. We lived on the same block as the First Baptist Church. I was around two years old. Grandpa Floyd E. Ellison was the pastor. Mom curled my blonde hair into ringlets. Grandpa was extra dressed up, and I remember thinking how tall and handsome he was. I was so proud to be his granddaughter. Pretty sure we went to the Wyoming Retirement Center for the annual Easter Egg Hunt.
During our time in Idaho, the Easter Sunrise Service for our church was held at a farm. We gathered eggs that were promptly cooked for the breakfast. They had sheep, so we always got to see and play with the lambs. Think it gave us children a better understanding of Pastor Johnson’s sermon about the Lamb of God.
Some of the most touching memories were the Easter Sunrise Services at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Our choir from Washington-Lee High School, along with choirs from other high schools, would sing at the ceremony.
As teenagers most of us grumbled about having to be there so early. Sometimes it was cold and drizzly. But as the sun came up over Washington D.C. and lit the Iwo Jima Memorial, our grumbling stopped. Our voices rang out, singing the Hallelujah chorus and the Lutkin benediction. While we were supposed to keep our eyes on our choir director Mr. Baxter, we didn’t. Instead, our eyes strayed to the groups of active-duty military Marines, Sailors and Veterans. Many of the Veterans had served in WWII--some were on the island of Iwo Jima that day. There is nothing like looking at those who served this country and singing, “May the Lord bless you and keep you.”
Years later when I lived in Los Angeles, I met Joe Rosenthal. He took the famous picture of the soldiers raising the American flag on Iwo Jima. When he found out my dad was a U.S. Navy Corpsman, he autographed a photo to him. Joe told me that day that not many people knew that one of the men who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi was a Corpsman.
He also told me that if I ever go back to visit the Iwo Jima Memorial, I should count the legs. According to him, there is an extra leg in the statue for stability. Not sure if he was pulling my leg. Pun intended.
While each of these Easter memories is vastly different, they are all filled with memories of blessings.