MEMORIAL DAY - May 30, 2005 -- Ray Boas, Walpole, New Hampshire

It is with a great deal of pleasure that I have this opportunity to speak to you on this Memorial Day 2005 to honor those who have died in our wars. I proudly served for 22 years in the US Navy from 1968 until my retirement in 1990. Serving our country 30 years ago was a different experience than today, and different from the experiences of those serving in previous generations -- but the men and women who have served and defended our freedoms have done so for a patriotic love of our country.

Memorial Day, which was originally called Decoration day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation‘s service, paying the ultimate price for our freedoms. Businesses closed for this sacred day. Towns held parades, just as we are still doing here in Walpole, to honor their fallen heroes, and the parade routes usually ended at the local cemetery, where Memorial Day speeches were given, veterans formed a firing squad and fired volleys, and taps was solemnly played. People took the time that day to clean and decorate with flowers and flags the graves of those who died in service to their country. How many of you remember decorating your bike with red, white and blue crepe paper, clipping a playing card with a clothes pin to your bike to make that "rat a tat tat," sound, and attaching flags to the handlebars? As a child I remember decorating my balloon tire bicycle, and riding the 5 miles to town to take part in the Memorial Day parade to Hillside Cemetery. As I listened to the speeches, the firing squad, and taps, my heart swelled with pride. I was proud being part of the tribute given to those who had fallen, and those who had served. My Dad served in World War II, and was a member of the American Legion firing squad. He now lays at rest in Hillside Cemetery in a decorated grave close to the spot where he fired those volleys, and one Memorial Day saved an empty cartridge for me as a souvenir.

There are many stories as to the actual beginnings of this day, and well over two dozen cities and towns lay claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War. As the Civil War still raged, grieving mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters, were cleaning confederate soldiers' graves in Columbus, Mississippi, placing flowers on them. Nearby, union soldiers' graves were overgrown with weeds. Grieving for their own fallen soldiers, the confederate women understood that the dead union soldiers buried nearby were the cherished loved ones of families and communities far away. So, they cleared those graves as well and laid flowers on them too. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5th 1868 by General John Logan, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11 which mandated the first Memorial Day on May 30th 1868. It is believed the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The order stated in part: "The 30th day 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 during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land." His order concluded saying, "It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades." Soon the tradition of a "Decoration Day" for the graves of fallen soldiers spread. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the "birthplace" of Memorial Day. There, on May 5, 1866, when the Civil War was over, Henry Welles closed his Waterloo drugstore and suggested that all other shops in town also close up for a day to honor all soldiers killed in the Civil War, Union and Confederate alike. It was a gesture of healing and reconciliation in a land that had been torn apart by conflict. By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30th throughout the nation. After World War I, Memorial Day was expanded to honor all those who had died in all of America's wars. The poem "In Flander's Field" written at this time, described a Belgium battlefield, now a cemetery, dotted with red poppies. The poem deeply touched the nation and the world, and, from that point on, poppies became known throughout the world as a memorial flower, a reminder of the lives lost in wartime. The VFW conducted its first poppy distribution before Memorial Day in 1922. The poppy soon became the official memorial flower, and they are assembled by disabled and needy veterans to provide them with some work. Poppies were available in Walpole the other day just as they always have been.

For decades, stores closed and communities gathered together on May 30th for a day of parades and other patriotic celebrations. Unfortunately, over the years the meaning of this day has sadly faded too much from the public consciousness. The National Holiday Act of 1971 changed Memorial Day to a three-day weekend ending with the last Monday in May. As a result, it has become easier for us to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of this day. From a solemn day of mourning, remembrance, and honor to our departed loved ones, it has become the start of summer with a long three-day weekend filled with picnics, shopping, sales and vacation travel. Many people today don't really know what the day stands for. As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day address: "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." Because of this change, changes in our world and changes in the nature of war, it is even harder for us to understand what motivated, inspired, and enabled ordinary citizens to rise to the challenge of battle and be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for the cause of freedom - a freedom that is too often taken for granted. That inspiration and motivation came from the values held by these men and women. Our proud heritage is grounded in those core values which include: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless-service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.

• Loyalty means bearing true faith and allegiance to the United States Constitution, your military unit, and fellow soldiers and citizens

• Duty means fulfilling your obligations.

• Respect means treating people as they should be treated.

• Selfless-Service means putting the welfare of the nation, the military, and your fellow man before your own.

• Honor means to live up to all of these values

• Integrity means to do what's right, legally and morally.

• Personal Courage means the willingness to face fear, danger, or adversity, whether physical or moral.

These values made our citizens and our country strong, but in many aspects of American life we have gotten away from these basic core values.

Memorial Day is the time for Americans to reconnect with their history and these core values by honoring those who have given their lives for the ideals we cherish. It is a time to remember those who gave their lives. But why Remember? Their sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance. America’s collective consciousness demands that all citizens be aware of and recall the wartime deaths of their fellow countrymen.

Far too often our nation as a whole takes for granted the freedoms all Americans enjoy. Those freedoms were paid for with the lives of others few of us actually knew. It is our civic obligation to honor our nation’s war dead to preserve their memory and thus their service and sacrifice. How do we remember and honor? Means of paying tribute vary. Pausing for a few moments of personal silence and prayer is available to everyone at any time. Attending ceremonies as we are doing today in Walpole is the most visible way of demonstrating remembrance. Also placing flags at gravesites, marching in parades, dedicating memorials and wearing Poppies are additional examples of displaying our patriotism.

I like to think of the military as an insurance policy. Something we have to have, but hope we never have to use. We are here today because that insurance policy has been used to preserve freedom throughout the world, and many have died in preserving that freedom. As Abraham Lincoln said, they "gave the fullest measure of devotion." Many powerful, memorable speeches and addresses have been delivered during our nation’s history. All I need to mention are the names Lincoln, FDR, MacArthur, or JFK, and those singular words will come to mind. My intent here today is not necessarily to leave you with a memorable quote, but I strongly desire that you depart today forever remembering those who gave their lives in time of war for your freedoms, and reconnect with the values that they held so sacred. Please remember and share the history and significance of this Memorial Day - May 30th. Thank you.