Memorial Day MEMORIAL DAY, Remembering Our Fallen Heroes

Cooking With Carlo ^ | May 23 2003 | Carlo3b

[carlo3b]

Memorial Day

Remembering Our Fallen Heroes

A Brief History of Memorial Day Decoration Day The morning of May 5, 1865. The war weary townspeople of Waterloo, New York, continued the recent Sunday ritual of placing flowers, wreaths, and crosses on the graves of their fallen soldiers in their local cemetery. Much the same was happening throughout the country, in both the Northern and Southern states, as Americans slowly healed the wounds that ravaged our young nation during the Great Civil War. That same day, Henry C. Welles, a druggist in the village of Waterloo, suggested at a social gathering that a more organized and official honor should be shown to the patriotic dead of the Civil War. That idea was embraced by those in attendance, and from there a movement began to take shape. On May 5, 1866, additional civic societies joined the procession to the three existing cemeteries and were led by veterans marching to martial music. At each cemetery there were impressive and lengthy services including speeches by General Murray and a local clergyman. The ceremonies were repeated again on May 5, 1867. The following year, Retired Major General Jonathan A. Logan planned another ceremony, this time for the soldiers who survived the war. He led the veterans through town to the cemetery to decorate their comrades' graves with flags. This group was generally referred to as the "Old Guard." It was not a happy celebration, it was a memorial. The townspeople called it Decoration Day. During that memorial ceremony, the General delivered the following proclamation excerpt; Memorial Day Retired Major General Loan's proclamation; "The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country and during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit." There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves even before the end of the Civil War. A hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet, carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). At the first official memorial, flowers were placed on the graves of both the Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Poppy Day In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael (the mother of the Poppy) replied with her own poem: We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies. She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one and sell poppies to her friends and co-workers, the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later, Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms. Michael, and when she returned to France, she also made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit the war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later, their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms. Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3-cent postage stamp with her likeness on it. Since the late 50's, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry have placed a small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. The first state to officially recognize Memorial Day as a holiday was New York, in 1873. By 1890, it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May, an official declaration passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act. Several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings.

[carlo3b]

This was written by John Hunneman, a staff writer for the North County Times, California, and published May 6, 2000, but is more pertinent today than back then. We now have fewer survivors of our past wars to remind us how grateful we should be that these brave Americans fought and died so we might be free. Please take the time to read and reflect on these brave souls.. I dedicate these threads in their name...

Remembering V-E Day

The 55th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe will pass quietly this weekend. I guess we tend to remember historical events only on the "important' numbers, like 25, 50 and 100 years.
On May 7, 1945, in Reims, France, at 2:41 a.m. local time, German Gen. Alfred Johl signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces, ending the war in Europe. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower accepted the surrender for the Allies.

The surrender was official at 11:01 p.m. on May 8. Earlier in the week, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had killed himself, the Red Army had captured Berlin, and other elements of the German Army had surrendered to Allied Forces.

The United States and Great Britain broadcast the news to their people simultaneously on May 8.

President Harry Truman asked the American people to "refrain from celebrating and dedicate themselves instead to the solemn task that lies ahead." Truman, of course, was speaking of the continuing war in the Pacific.

Americans celebrated anyway, swarming into Times Square tooting horns and tossing confetti.

The night before V-E Day, my uncle, Pfc. Ralph Campbell, a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne, had escaped from a German POW Camp where he'd been held since being dropped by mistake behind enemy lines during the invasion of Normandy.

Rumors had spread through the camp that the Germans had planned to execute their prisoners as their final atrocity of the war.

Campbell collapsed after running through the woods all night and woke up with a German soldier standing over him and a rifle pointing at his head. To my uncle's surprise, the soldier muttered "Der krieg ist vorbe" (The war is over) and walked away.

Like the other lucky ones, Ralph Campbell returned to the states, raised his family and led a productive life. He and my father are among most of the 16 million men and women who served in World War II who are no longer with us.

There are no ceremonies marking the end of World War II in Europe planned at the Eisenhower Library and Museum in Abilene, Kan.

"I'm not aware of anything going on anywhere," said museum archivist David Haight on Friday.

At Riverside National Cemetery, where 118,000 veterans and their family members are interred, only the snap of the flags in a stiff breeze will mark the occasion.

Albert Woolson, the last Union soldier of the Civil War, died in 1956 at the age of 109. John Salling, the last Confederate soldier of that war, died in 1958 at the age of 112. The last soldier of the Spanish American War, Nathan E. Cook, died in 1992 at age 106.

About 3,000 World War I veterans remain.

It seems to me that as long as we have living WW II veterans, like those who helped defeat Hitler and save Europe, we should take a moment this weekend to pause, remember V-E Day, and honor those still among us.

JOHN HUNNEMAN
Staff Writer
5/6/00  North County Times

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so very much for that article! Hugs!

[Coleus]

bttt.

[christie]

Thanks Carlo.

[SevenofNine]

RACKKKKK ALL Fallen Heroes who ever fought in US Miltary and in the past

From Revolutnarty war tooooo current Iraqi war heroes


RACKKKKK ITTTTT

[doug from upland]

MEMORIAL DAY SONG

[ppaul]

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U.S. Memorial Day, May 30

"Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day.
No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."

:

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In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

:

[summer]

bttt

[stanz]

Thanks for this fitting tribute to our heroes. I always look forward to our local parade here in my neighborhood which is coming up on 5/30. I hope it won't get rained out the way all the weekend festivities did. At least I got to see the President at Arlington. It was very moving.

Thank you vets for all your service to our country.

[Mr. Thorne]

Here's one for the Buckeyes amongst us...

Young, Rodger W., Private, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division (the Ohio Buckeyes); born Tiffin, Ohio, 28 April 1918; died 31 July 1943, on the island of New Georgia, Solomons, South Pacific, while singlehandedly attacking and destroying an enemy machine-gun pillbox. His platoon had been pinned down by intense fire from this pillbox; Private Young was wounded in the first burst. He crawled toward the pillbox, was wounded a second time but continued to advance, firing his rifle as he did so. He closed on the pillbox, attacked and destroyed it with hand grenades, but in so doing he was wounded a third time and killed.

His bold and gallant action in the face of overwhelming odds enabled his teammates to escape without loss; he was awarded posthumously the Medal of Honor.

An addendum: Rodger Young, a 5' 2" National Guardsman, had, just before this action, busted HIMSELF from Staff Sergeant down to Private. His hearing was going bad on him, and he didn't feel he could take care of his men with the degraded hearing.

Here's to their memory.

[Smartass]

God Bless Our Great Military
Thank You For Serving

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Please pause and say a prayer for All those who have given their life defending our Freedom.
Please say a prayer for their loved ones and friends.
Also say a prayer for Protection for those serving in the military.

[Happy2BMe]

God richly bless and protect all our valiant warrior of freedom and liberty - both past *and* present . .

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the courts
who has given us the right to keep and bear arms

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag,

and serves under the flag.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,
AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT
SHINE UPON THEM.

We Must NEVER Forget!

Iraqi Coalition Casualty Report

[MeekOneGOP]

#211/#213: Great posts, folks ! Thanks .....

[Cindy]

God bless you Carlo. Our family will never forget. We appreciate your remembrance.

[Cindy]

Random Thoughts....

American Flags blowing in the wind...
Graveyards with American flags at the headstones...
Remembrance services with the local veterans...
Patriotic Music...
History books open...Documentaries on TV...
Newspapers featuring local veterans...
Honor...Patriotism...Loyalty...America....
PRAYERS.
May God continue to bless America.

[Smartass]

PING.

[carlo3b]

 
Memories on Memorial Day . . .

May I take a moment of your time to tell you about one War hero . . . my hero..

His name was Joe, just plain Joe, a true GI Joe. He was my great uncle, indeed a truly great uncle. Pfc. Joseph Tripicchio, a real hero of W.W.I.

My Uncle Joe, the wonderful man that raised me, joined the US Army as a 16 year old, on the same day as his two older brothers. He spent the majority of his service in Frace and Italy and was awarded a Purple Heart on the field of battle. His injury was severe enough that it prevented him from fathering any children. He never won any other significant medals, although he served in several of the most horrific battles of one of the most gruesome wars in world history. He returned home quite different from the happy, outgoing, and jovial boy who had left four years earlier. The brothers left together, but he alone returned home, a quiet, distant, and tortured man.

As much as I tried to encourage him, Uncle Joe never shared any of his war stories with me or anyone else that I could tell. That is, aside from his general declaration that, "War is Hell." As is typical of so many true heroes, he held his horrors within, so I am unable to share any of them with you, except to say, I herd him cry out in his sleep on more than one occasion. Aside from his old uniform and his Purple Heart and a folded American flag, one would never know of his service.

In his later years he joined the VFW, never missing a general meeting nor funeral. He was an honor guard or pallbearer for hundreds of passing brothers. He marched in every Memorial Day parade in my memory, until his own passing.

What makes this GI's story so very remarkable is that his story is so very unremarkable. The silent majority. This soldier story is shared by millions of other heroes; men and women, boys and girls, the backbone of our country's history, and the rock rib of our national character. Their blood and silent tears, and those of us that remember and mourn their loss, must tell you about those who's story won't be heard without you.

This Memorial Day should be more than an extended weekend holiday, picnics and baseball, it must be a tribute to everyone who served their country on your behalf. We may cry and struggle in their memory, but they lived and live with the horrors of war, and do so in dignity and grace.

Thank you from your country, thank you from my family, and thank you from the bottom of my heart . . . Bless them, HEROES ALL!

GOD BLESS YOU,
AND GOD BLESS AMERICA

[carlo3b]

Thank you for your post.. it is especially reflective of the more peaceful memories of those that we miss on these sad days..

[carlo3b]

Thank you Tonk, Bless you my FRiend.. Remembering my service brothers and sisters.. they are never far from my thoughts..