MEMORiAl DAy 2012 - USAWOA Portal

Cover Story
Memorial Day History
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day,
is a day of remembrance for those who have died in
our nation’s service. 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
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). 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; each of those towns and every
planned or spontaneous gathering of people to
honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the
general human need to honor our dead, each contributed
honorably to the growing movement that
culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation
in 1868. It is not important who was the
very first, what is important is that Memorial Day
was established. Memorial Day is not about division.
It is about reconciliation; it is about coming
together to honor those who gave their all. A
Ode to the M1 Garand
The M1 Garand
Do you wonder why that rifle
Is hanging in my den?
You know I rarely take it down
But I touch it now and then.
It’s rather slow and heavy
By standards of today
But not too many years ago
It swept the rest away.
It’s held its own in battles
Through snow, or rain, or sun
And I had one just like it,
This treasured old M-1.
It went ashore at Bougainville
In Nineteen Forty-Three.
It stormed the beach at Tarawa
Through a bullet-riddled sea.
Saipan knew its strident bark,
Kwajalein, its sting.
The rocky caves of Peleliu
Resounded with its ring.
It climbed the hill on Iwo
With men who wouldn’t stop
And left our nation’s banner
Flying on the top.
It poked its nose in Pusan,
Screamed an angry roar
And took the First Division
From Chosin Reservoir.
Well, time moves on
And things improve
With rifles and with men,
And that is why the two of us
Are sitting in my den.
But sometimes on a winter night,
While thinking of my Corps,
I know that if the bugle blew
We’d be a team once more.
~ Author Unknown A