VENICE - Randall Decker stood in front of the Southern Cayuga Middle School Friday afternoon at the annual student-led memorial service, bowed his head and closed his eyes in a moment of silence. The 16-year-old sophomore was surrounded by a group of restless friends, who were all silent but not closing their eyes.

"My grandfather was in the Korean war," Decker said. "Yes, I think this is important."

Decker's attitude is exactly what social studies instructor and event organizer Barb Casper is hoping the service encourages.

"It's a challenge trying to get them to relate," she said. "For some students, their lives are not directly affected by wars. In this setting and to have students hosting it, it makes it more relevant."

Students of Casper's 11th grade class led the service by reading the history about Memorial Day, the Gettysburg Address and other selections. Members of the choir sang and two students played taps after the flag was lowered to half-staff. Marine veteran Ted Rejman of King Ferry then spoke to the students, urging them to take the day to thank the people who sacrificed for the country.

"It has become a three-day weekend and another day off work," he said. "Please do not let this go as another day when we go for a picnic and don't remember."

The people who have defended the country are the reason American citizens have freedoms, he said.

"As bad as you think you may have it, there is always someone who has it worse," he said. "In some countries they can't even express how they feel."

Leigh McGonagle, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, said conducting Memorial Day services at schools should be a priority because her generation has a harder time relating to veterans and their experiences.

"Other than Iraq, there has been no pull for a war," she said. "And we are not directly affected because it is not on our soil. We don't feel as attached, Memorial Day helps us feel that."

Rejman said he speaks at services because of the disconnect among generations.

"There are young families in this war in Iraq, but it's tough because kids are so removed from it," he said. "The general population isn't affected. That's brutal, but that's the way it is."

During his speech Rejman asked the students to picture themselves hunkered down in a foxhole listening to guns fire above their heads. He asked them to imagine standing up during gunfire to cover a fellow soldier as he darts from his foxhole to another, only to realize they have been shot and wounded.

"The friend is indebted to you forever," Rejman said. "He will remember you every time he goes to a Memorial Day Service. That is what Memorial Day is about."