Fort Riley ? As a boy, Maj. James Schwartz went to a cemetery each Memorial Day to honor the nation’s war dead.

On Monday, after two tours of duty in Iraq, Schwartz and his sons, Joseph and Paul, were among hundreds of soldiers, families and friends who gathered at Fort Riley’s cemetery to carry out that ritual once more.

Another 100 people joined Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for a separate observance on the Statehouse grounds.

Schwartz, who commanded the 82nd air ambulance company in Iraq, said Memorial Day was especially significant this year for his family. A year ago Monday, Schwartz boarded a plane to return from Iraq to end his first tour there.

“They understand the sacrifice that people have given now,” Schwartz said of his sons, both of whom wore Scout uniforms.

At both ceremonies, the war in Iraq was on participants’ minds. Since March 2003, 37 soldiers from Fort Riley, including two Kansans, have died. Another nine Kansans assigned to other military installations have died, either in Iraq or in Afghanistan.

About 3,700 troops from Fort Riley are serving in Iraq, and another 700 expect to be deployed there later this year. In addition, several hundred Kansas National Guard troops are serving there, and about 1,100 have been notified that they may be mobilized for duty.

The Fort Riley ceremony included the laying of a wreath at a stone obelisk at the cemetery’s center, just yards from the grave of Sgt. 1st Class James T. Hoffman, of Whitesburg, Ky., who died Jan. 27. Hoffman is one of four Fort Riley soldiers killed in Iraq to be buried on the post.

Army Spc. Alan Seufert plays Taps during a Memorial Day observance at the post cemetery at Fort Riley. The program Monday made special mention of the 37 soldiers stationed at the base who have died since the beginning of the war in Iraq.

Hundreds of small American flags decorated Fort Riley graves, some of which date from shortly after the post’s founding in 1853.

At Fort Riley, the quiet ceremony was punctuated by the wail of “Taps” and a 21-gun salute from 105 mm Howitzers.

Schwartz, the soldier who brought his sons to the post, said his father was a Vietnam veteran and his grandfather served in World War II. He said Memorial Day was one day to set aside for remembering soldiers who protected freedoms that many Americans take for granted.

As for ceremonies like Fort Riley’s, Schwartz said, “I just think it’s important for young men and young adults to go.”

In Topeka, Sebelius noted that Memorial Day had its roots in an 1866 observance in Columbus, Miss., when widows of Confederate veterans decided to lay flowers at the neglected graves of Union soldiers who had fallen during the Civil War.

“Today, our minds are understandably on Iraq,” Sebelius said. “But I think it’s important on a day like today to also think back to that spirit that moved the grieving widows to create this day of tribute.”

Sebelius also asked her audience to remember soldiers from past wars, noting that a memorial to World War II veterans was dedicated Saturday in Washington.

“One of the strengths of America has always been our ability to forge a common purpose from our diversity,” Sebelius said. “Today, as we engage in honest and honorable debate about the best course for the future of this country, we can’t ever forget that we’re all Americans.”

After Sebelius’ remarks, the Kansas National Guard’s highest-ranking noncommissioned officer, Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen Rodina, read the names of Kansas’ and Fort Riley’s dead. A bugler then played “Taps.”