On milestone anniversary of Memorial Day, Lawrence veterans urge community to remember holiday’s roots
photo by: Mike Yoder
Norman Estelle, formerly of Lawrence and now of San Leandro, Calif., said he comes back to Lawrence for Memorial Day every year.
The 29-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps was in attendance Monday at a ceremony in remembrance of fallen service members, which the Lawrence American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post 14 organized at Oak Hill Cemetery.
“To me, Memorial Day is remembering the deceased, and the people that came before you and after you in the military who helped keep this country free,” Estelle said. “It’s not all about going out and having barbecue.”
Dozens of people attended Monday’s ceremony at Oak Hill, where red flowers and American flags decorated the graves of veterans and other colorful flowers had been placed at headstones throughout the cemetery.
photo by: Mike Yoder
In his remarks, Post Commander Alan Van Loenen noted this year marks the 150th anniversary of the first observance of Memorial Day and stressed the importance of remembering the holiday’s roots.
“Each passing year the original purpose of Memorial Day fades in the public eye,” he said.
Waterloo, N.Y., is generally credited with the first organized, community wide effort to decorate graves of soldiers in May 1866. The tradition evolved into the more widely celebrated Decoration Day and, eventually, Memorial Day.
The holiday was initially established to honor specifically wartime loss of men and women in uniform, Van Loenen said, a day for Americans to share in a collective form of grief.
The government later changed the date from May 30 to the final Monday in May to create a three-day weekend, and many people now use the holiday to honor all deceased loved ones, Van Loenen said.
While that’s a noble sentiment, he said, it’s important not to forget the original meaning of Decoration Day, which was meant for the men and women who died while defending our country.
“In many ways this is one of the most important holidays on the nation’s calendar,” he said. “Some gave the ultimate sacrifice, some are still missing in action, and some have never been buried.”
Marianne Middleton, of the American Legion Auxiliary, said she gets calls and is keenly aware of the importance of supporting survivors of veterans killed in action, who often have been young.
“It’s critical that we remember the service the deceased have given, and their families,” Middleton said. “It’s important to remember the families, too. They need help.”
Estelle, who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, said that in addition to honoring fellow service members who did not make it home, he — like many Americans — takes Memorial Day to spend time with living relatives in Lawrence and visit the graves of others.
Estelle’s parents, his brother and his daughter, who died when she was 3, are all buried in Lawrence, he said. Each year, he places flowers on their graves.
Monday’s American Legion ceremony at Oak Hill Cemetery featured a bagpipe and drum trio performing “Amazing Grace,” a rifle salute, a memorial bell-ringing and the playing of taps.
It was just one of the ceremonies planned in the county.
The Lawrence VFW Alford-Clarke Post 852 — which also helped with the placement of flags on veterans’ graves throughout the city — scheduled a ceremony at its post on Massachusetts Street. Baldwin City American Legion Lloyd Benton Post 228 also planed its annual Memorial Day observance at Oakwood Cemetery in Baldwin City.