Not to be confused with Veterans’ Day—when we remember our still-living veterans as well as those who have died, Memorial Day is for remembering those veterans who fell in battle. “These honored dead” were originally remembered on Decoration Day when the nation remembered those who had fallen in the Civil War by decorating their graves with flowers. Though Memorial Day, as Decoration Day came to be called, was celebrated by communities nationwide for more than a century, it was not until 1971 that Congress declared the observance a national holiday, officially naming it Memorial Day.
When I was a boy, we had a Memorial Day parade in Springfield, Ohio. It was a big deal. Businesses closed and a huge parade went through town and ending at Ferncliff Cemetery. It seemed like the entire city came out for that parade. Afterwards, families gathered for cookouts.
Here in Graham there will be no Memorial Day parade. They do have a Confederate Memorial Day on May 10th when a few folks come out for an observance around the town’s statue to Confederate soldiers.
The monument here in Graham is a copy of the one at the Spotsylvania Confederate Cemetery in Virginia.
In searching for a photo of the parade in my hometown (of which there is a dearth), I found this photo of my nephew, Specialist Ryan Hunger, Grand Marshall of the Tremont City, Ohio, Memorial Day Parade. He is in the Army National Guard and headed back to Iraq soon.
Ryan is headed out in January for a second term in Iraq. My prayers are with you, Ryan.
I have another nephew, Aaron Peters, who is leaving for Paris Island on January 14th. Ooo-RAH!