VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach resident Donna Olson conducts her own tribute every Memorial Day.
Olson said she has been going to the Tidewater Veterans Memorial for 15 years to visit her husband.
On Monday, Olson walked with a kneeling stool in hand and a single pink rose. She knelt down and used her tools to create a hole in the dirt above her husband's name, Robert E. Olson. She kneeled and prayed.
“I love you, honey. Love you," said Olson.
Olson said her husband served in World War II and the Vietnam War.
“My husband is buried in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I don’t get there anymore. So, I come here for my husband’s birthday, Memorial Day, and any other excuse I have to come and visit him," said Olson.
Olson said that her late husband was an overall wonderful husband, father and man. She said she and her family are so proud of his time in the service.
“You’ll be a celebrity, honey," Olson said before she gave her hands a kiss and placed them on her husband's name paver.