Jack Jones


MEMORIAL DAY

Dedicated to Jack Jones
508th Airborne Infantry, Korea
Died May 26th 2005
We will join you soon brother


The old sergeant was walking across their compound when a member of 
the goon squad came running up.  

"Pappy!  Have you got a minute?  What are we going to do for Memorial 
Day?  You got a party planned?  What are we going------?  The 
sergeant held up his hand for silence.

"You know, you ask more questions than any kid I have ever seen.  Do 
you want to know why the sky is blue, asshole?  Go away and-------.  
No, I tell you what.  You have the whole platoon met me in the field 
behind the compound on the 30th.  I think you all need a lesson about 
what Memorial Day really means.

Grumbling to himself the old sergeant walked off and the goon squad 
soldier was left wondering if they were in trouble.

May 30th arrived and at about 1600hrs the whole platoon, plus many 
from other platoons were in the field behind the compound.  Usually 
when pappy had something to say, if you were smart, you were there to 
listen.  A lot of soldiers are alive today because they listened to 
pappy.  Some of those that didn't, well, they aren't here.  

At 1630 on the dot the sergeant walked out onto the field and into 
the middle of the assembled men.  Most were sitting on the ground, 
talking and smoking.  But when pappy arrived it got very quite.

"Ok ladies, listen up!  Apparently most of you think Memorial Day is 
a time to party, have burgers and beers.  Oh, you might know in the 
back of your mind what it really means but I'm going to impress 
something on you I want you to always remember.

Memorial Day seems to have been degraded to a marketing 
strategy.  "Memorial Day sale this and after Memorial Day sale that.  
Back yard barbecues and hotdogs.  But you, of all people, should know 
exactly what it means and where it came from.

"Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of 
an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic 
(GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to 
decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. 
Logan declared it should be May 30. It is believed the date was 
chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The 
first large observance was held that year at Arlington National 
Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. 
The ceremonies centered around the mourning- draped veranda of the 
Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various 
Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, 
presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the 
Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their 
way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and 
Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns. 
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. 
Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace 
of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the 
title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims 
it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., 
cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony 
took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home 
of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection 
with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most 
of the war dead were buried.
In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, 
N.Y., the "birthplace" of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 
1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. 
Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters 
of Waterloo's claim say earlier observances in other places were 
either informal, not community-wide or one-time events. By the end of 
the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 
throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations 
designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for 
proper observance at their facilities. It was not until after World 
War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have 
died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a 
national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often 
called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in 
May, as were some other federal holidays.
In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate 
the graves of all departed loved ones.
The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be 
found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to 
the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that 
could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in 
the nation's wars: "Not only are they commemorated by columns and 
inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, 
graven not on stone but in the hearts of men."
To ensure the sacrifices of America 's fallen heroes are never 
forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the 
president signed into law "The National Moment of Remembrance Act," 
P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National 
Moment of Remembrance. The commission's charter is to "encourage the 
people of the United States to give something back to their country, 
which provides them so much freedom and opportunity" by encouraging 
and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day 
and the National Moment of Remembrance.
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause 
wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute 
of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to 
the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada 
states: "It's a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial 
Day."  (1)
"So.  Now do all you numb nuts understand the real meaning of 
Memorial Day?  Always remember that over 1 million Americans have 
given their lives in the fight for freedom.  They and all veterans 
will always be remembered and so will you.
All sat in rapt attention as the old sergeant finished his speech.  
At just about that time a truck rolled onto the field.  It contained 
a barbecue grill and lots of hamburgers and hotdogs.
As the old sergeant was walking away he turned and said, "Well now 
that I know you all are educated, there is no reason not to have a 
little fun.

©  Steve Newton
The Old Sergeant Series is fictional
(1)  A very special thank you to the Veterans Administration
He Only Takes the Best:
God saw that he was getting tired and a cure was not to be
So he put his arms around him and whispered "Come with me"
With Tear filled eyes we watched him, suffer and fade away
Althrough we loved him deeply, we could not make him stay.
A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands put to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to use, that he only takes the Best.

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