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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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 Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 5:38 am Post subject: Last Monday in May |
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Stolen from:
http://www.usmemorialday.org/
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HEADQUARTERS GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868
1. 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. 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.
We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, "of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.
If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.
Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from hishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.
2. 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. He earnestly desires the public press to lend its friendly aid in bringing to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time for simultaneous compliance therewith.
3. Department commanders will use efforts to make this order effective.
By order of
JOHN A. LOGAN,
Commander-in-Chief
N.P. CHIPMAN,
Adjutant General
Official:
WM. T. COLLINS, A.A.G.
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http://www.usmemorialday.org/audio/taps.wav
Thanks and praise,
For our days,
'Neath the sun,
'Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.
...ohhh poppies.
_________________
"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare |
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GenrXr
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 1720
Location: Houston
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2005 5:50 am Post subject: Re: Last Monday in May |
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| I B Squidly wrote: | Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.
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Thank you for posting this Squidly. It is sad so many people have no clue what Memorial Day stands for and it is refreshing to see your post, which through the erudite words of a true intellectual show the importance of our remembrance of those who paid the final sacrifice for our freedom.
_________________
"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy |
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rhv5862
PO2
Joined: 21 Aug 2004
Posts: 379
Location: Massachusetts
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| Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 1:44 am Post subject: Last Day in May |
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Squidly, thanks for a great post. To many today look at this day as just another day off from work. At a City in Ma a 9 year old boy was refused permission to plant flowers on Vets graves because the Cemeteries rules only allow for relatives to plant at a grave. Great message to send a 9 year old. Director said rules were rules and they would not bend them.
RHV |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 7:54 am Post subject: |
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bump
_________________
"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare |
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BuffaloJack
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1637
Location: Buffalo, New York
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 2:22 pm Post subject: |
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Who is giving these lessons to a 9 year boy; a liberal?
Any gesture to honor our war dead should be allowed and appreciated!
| Quote: | | Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well. |
from "The Origins of Memorial Day"
http://www1.va.gov/visns/visn03/kids/memorialday.htm
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Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71) |
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rhv5862
PO2
Joined: 21 Aug 2004
Posts: 379
Location: Massachusetts
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 7:19 pm Post subject: Last Monday in May |
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Cemetry was in Worcester Ma. Director said she "did not care if they were dead for 1000 years, they were not going to bend the rules". She has to be a liberal.
RHV |
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Navy_Navy_Navy
Admin
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 5777
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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About Face Over Salute to Vets
(CBS) With Memorial Day weekend at hand, a Massachusetts boy has gotten the green light for a special tribute to soldiers, after facing an initial obstacle.
Pauline Chiou of CBS station WBZ-TV reports that Collin Kelly raised $226 to buy flowers for veterans' graves at Edgell Grove Cemetery in his hometown of Framingham. He's been keeping the money in a tissue box.
But the cemetery turned him away, saying only relatives can place flowers on individual graves.
"Rules are rules, but you can't let one little kid in, who wants to give his heroes flowers?" Kelly, 9, exclaims.
Kelly's grandfather fought in World War II. Kelly didn't want to forget the other veterans, so he went door-to-door, asking for a dollar here, a dollar there to buy flowers.
Word about Kelly's mission quickly got around.
Recently, a Korean War veteran stopped by his house with tears in his eyes, wanting to shake his hand.
"I think," says Kelly's mother, Lynn Kelly, "he's learned that one person can make a huge difference in the world. So many people are proud of him."
Now, the cemetery's commissioners say Kelly can carry out his tribute.
Even if they hadn't bent their rules, Kelly said he was prepared to honor veterans: "If I don't get to plant the flowers at the graves, I want to give the money and the flowers to the veterans that are still alive." |
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Dwinell: Another job that had to be done
By Joe Dwinell
Monday, May 30, 2005
I found an American soul this weekend. He drives a white pickup truck with country music ballads blasting from the radio.
He's muscled, as you'd probably be if you just completed a tour of duty in Iraq, and nobody messes with his hometown. He proudly wears the gold, red and deep-blue of his U.S. Marine uniform.
And, with everyone counting on him, he reports as promised to help a beaming 9-year-old Collin Kelly place flowers at the graves of veterans.
The story of little Collin wanting to honor veterans at Framingham's Edgell Grove Cemetery on Saturday is a shot of patriotism heard round the nation. Everyone with an ounce of Americana has rallied to this boy's side. But, one Marine stands head and shoulders above the rest of us.
U.S. Marine Cpl. John Grigg vowed nobody would tell a boy in his hometown they couldn't honor a soldier.
"I will NOT stand by and let someone say 'No, especially to a 9-year-old kid,'" Grigg said. You must admire this homespun can-do spirit. It's a story that must be told.
I jumped into the corporal's truck Saturday morning to help him load up his pickup with red geraniums to bring to the cemetery. What I really wanted to discover, though, is the spirit of our country.
I'm here to report today that America matters. We're a nation where a young man can strike out on his own and make a life that stands for something. John Grigg told me as we drove in his truck that fighting in Iraq, especially Fallajah, is instinct and training in bursts.
"You just move, and move, and move and just DO!" he said. "Later on you stop and think about what you could do better.
"It's just a job and somebody has to do it so why not me?" he added as we drove to the cemetery with our load of geraniums. So, he explained, when a boy wants to honor this brand of determination, it's his duty to make sure the mission is accomplished.
That's the good will you hunt for. It's here in Framingham. Christa McAuliffe had it (I covered her quest years ago, too.) John Grigg and Collin Kelly have it, too.
"Big cities get ideas from little towns," Grigg said as we brought our load of flowers back to Edgell Grove.
Grigg is ready for the next chapter in his life. He's working "three jobs," he told me, trying to make his way after leaving the Marines. He said he's planning to run for selectman next year. He has a few projects in mind for the town.
Keep an eye on this guy. He's going places.
Collin Kelly couldn't complete his quest alone. His parents, Lynn and Gerard Kelly, and his two older brothers, Thompson and Devin, have been by his side all the way. So too has been the Rev. Frank Strahan, the "monsignor" at St. Bridget's Church and school in Framingham.
But it has been the arrival of Cpl. Gregg (like the cavalry coming over the hill in the nick of time) who has brought a deep sense of pride to this tale.
The "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" is next for Collin Kelly.
An all-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood is this 9-year-old boy's reward for standing up to cemetery trustees and teaching a nation that honoring fallen veterans really is kid stuff.
It took a kid to say, this Memorial Day weekend, rules don't apply when it comes to patriotism. Maybe we needed a bouncing blonde boy to teach us anew to slow down and remember those lost in war.
There can be no regulations when honoring those who picked up arms against a foe since the Revolutionary War.
It's not about politics but pride. Collin, not realizing what the fuss is all about, never strayed from his course and a young Marine just back from Iraq made sure he had help when it was needed most. |
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother |
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rhv5862
PO2
Joined: 21 Aug 2004
Posts: 379
Location: Massachusetts
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:01 pm Post subject: Last Monday in May |
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Navy-Navy-Navy, thanks for the up date. Had not seen anything about the reversal by the Cemetery Commission but is sure good news.
RHV |
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Navy_Navy_Navy
Admin
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 5777
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for reminding me to go look for it. 
I knew there had to be a real storm brewing over this situation and it's out there - we're just not seeing much of it on the news. (Oh, as if, hm?)
I'm very glad that this story got the attention that it did - that young boy set an example for children (and some adults, too!) all over the country.
God bless our veterans forever with people who are willing to take a stand and decorate their final resting places. They are never forgotten and their sacrifices do not go unappreciated and unsaluted.
God especially bless these who have paid for the freedom of others with their lives. We are grateful.
"Greater love hath no man, that he will lay down his life for his neighbor."
.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother |
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Deuce
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 19 Mar 2005
Posts: 589
Location: FL
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Navy_Navy_Navy wrote: | Thank you for reminding me to go look for it.
I knew there had to be a real storm brewing over this situation and it's out there - we're just not seeing much of it on the news. (Oh, as if, hm?)
I'm very glad that this story got the attention that it did - that young boy set an example for children (and some adults, too!) all over the country.
God bless our veterans forever ..."Greater love hath no man, that he will lay down his life for his neighbor."
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N3
I second that (and the remainder of your message)...Great find!
here's a followup from "Not the globe":
http://news.bostonherald.com/opinion/view.bg?articleid=87026
Deuce |
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