OGDEN, Utah — Inside the historic Ogden Union Station, a gallery sits quiet and still. You could hear a pin drop.
It’s where you’ll find Jan Hendrickson.
“They’re sacred. We just kind of try to remind people that it’s a memorial, to please just keep silent," said Hendrickson. “People come in and they do pay honor and tribute to each of the boots and each of the families and yes, my son is here, so it’s kind of nice having him right there."
Jan’s only child, Cody, died while an active service member.
“Cody was insane. I don’t think he ever had a serious moment in his entire life,” she said.
They are people, families, memories.
Four rows of more than 400 boots of Utah’s bravest women and men starting as early as 2001.
Sadly, rows that continue to grow as the years go on.
“Some have messages from their children on them. Some are very extravagantly painted. We have a daughter who has come every year and every year she puts something in her dad‘s boot,” says Antionette Stapley. “We know her and we look forward to seeing her every year and his boot is filled with little trinkets she’s made for him.”
Antionette is responsible for every boot in the memorial.
Including her husband Tracy’s boot, who was also known as “Dude” to those who knew him best.
It was his passing during his second deployment in Qatar in 2013 that gave way to the memorial’s creation.
“Our classmate reached out and said ‘Thank you and I’m sorry’ and that was really touching from this individual. And then a month later I was notified that he had passed away,” says Antionette. “So when I was putting together the boot display, I knew I wanted to remember all of our service members because of this individual. He didn’t get the recognition and I wanted to make sure that all of our service members were remembered.”
This Memorial Day and every one to come, those military mottos ring true.
For some, it was “Not self, but country”, for others, “Semper fi” or even “Aim high, fly, fight, win”.
We remember those who once proudly heralded these words.
And now we herald them.
“With my son dying on Memorial Day, it brought a whole new light to it. It made me come to terms with the fact that this is what Memorial Day is about,” says Jan. “It’s also about spending time with your family and your friends and never forgetting who they are and hugging and appreciating them, but it’s very important and especially on Memorial Day, just to take that few minutes and remember why we have Memorial Day.”
