Carol Fisher-Linn
Memorial Day – a day of remembrance, Monday May 25. Fly flags at half-staff until noon.
The official U.S. Government Memorial Day proclamation calls on Americans “to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace.”
We fly our large flag every day, unless the wind and weather is too punishing. Putting it up is ritual. Often both of us handle it to keep it off the ground in respect for the colors. Raised slowly – saluted. Replaced often, our flag is always crisp and bright and treated with the highest respect it deserves. On Memorial Day the flag, if up all night, is lowered to half-staff at sunrise. If you put your flag up daily, on Memorial Day raise it to full staff, then respectfully lower it to half-staff until noon when it goes back up to full staff. The lowering is to respectfully honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country. The raising at noon signifies hope and faith that regardless of any setbacks, our nation moves on.
Even before Memorial Day’s official beginning in 1868, one of the first recorded laying of the flowers was in May 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina by newly freed persons who honored the fallen Civil war soldiers – in total there were more than 620,000 Civil War deaths (modern analysis says the number is closer to 750,000 human beings. Think of it. That’s almost triple of Buffalo’s current population.) The story goes that during the Civil war, the Charleston, South Carolina’s racetrack had been turned into a military prison. Immediately following the war, previously enslaved people exhumed the hurriedly buried bodies of the Civil war heroes and reinterred them with flowers in a new white picket fenced cemetery. On May 1st of that year, over 10,000 people, mostly freed slaves staged a solemn parade on the track, carrying flowers and singing hymns. By 1868 the idea spread country-wide and the first official observance was at Arlington National Cemetery. By 1971 it finally became a Federal Holiday on the last Monday of May to create a three-day weekend to give honor to our fallen.
You know, after the drudge of cold, snow and dirty slush, and the emergence of spring and comfortable temperatures, we can easily forget the reason for the season. Naturally, we revel in the official kick-off for summer – Memorial Day. For three days it’s time to pull out the white clothes, kick back, have a bar-b-que, gather with friends and family and just relax. Surely, every living veteran of our country’s armed forces looks to enjoy Memorial Day as much as the next person but, having served, they may be more acutely aware of why we celebrate this day to honor our fallen. If you have a veteran in your home or circle respect them by honoring those who didn’t make it home to join the fun. Take just a few hours out of the weekend on Memorial Day itself to cheer on a parade and attend a community service or cemetery ceremony remembering to offer a prayer for permanent peace. Another good way to take that moment to pray is by honoring the National Moment of Silence at 3pm on May 25th, local time, offering a solemn moment of honor and reflection.
Practically every local community offers an event honoring the fallen. Many generally begin at 11am as is the case in Ellicottville when dignitaries and veterans will gather at the Gazebo for music, speeches and shared memories. After the gathering it is customary to walk to the American Legion to gather socially with fellow veterans, family and friends.
In Salamanca, the public is invited to attend the annual Memorial Day Commemoration at 11am at the Seneca Allegany Administration Building. Little Valley hosts a parade at 11am, East Otto and Cattaraugus have parades as do Gowanda and East Otto.
In Chautauqua County parades abound with Jamestown striking up the band at 10am, City of Dunkirk at 11am, preceded by a memorial service at 10am, and Panama and Bemus Point both host a local parade alongside their Annual Memorial Day Car Show at 10am.
With so much to do, remember to wear a red poppy and take a moment to honor our vets in silence or prayer at 3pm. Want something quieter to do? Take a ride through both counties and find the many memorial plaques commemorating our fallen. Go the HMbd.org and search for historical markers and war memorials.