Memorial Day

[Beavah]

Yah, so in between da barbeque and da sports and such, I hope and expect everyone here took some time to reflect and salute da men and women who gave their country the last full measure of devotion. May God bless 'em and their families, and may we never forget.

 

If your unit did somethin' to remember those brave folks this Memorial Day, why don't yeh share that with the group? It might give others good ideas for unit programs in da years to come.

 

Beavah

 

[UCEagle72]

We had several Troops & Packs that joined with an American Legion post in Sanford Florida. They planted flags on military graves in the local cemetery.

 

Legion had coffee and donuts for all at 7:30 a.m. where the units gathered, then they traveled to the cemetery where the grave marking was done.

 

Always nice to see the Scouts working a veteran's organization. (The Legion Post does sponsor a Pack & Troop.)

 

[NealOnWheels]

Our pack marched in the parade and presented a wreath afterwards at the memorial ceremony.

[packsaddle]

I'll continue to honor the original intent of the day by thinking of the Union soldiers who sacrificed so much to keep the country united and to free the slaves. Not too long ago, this holiday was not observed by certain Southern states...in favor of Confederate Memorial Day. Some localities still make a strong distinction. I won't forget that either.

I will also continue to honor Veteran's Day on which all veterans and those in service are honored and remembered.

 

Edited to add: from Wikipedia, "Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, which was first recorded to have been observed by Freedmen (freed enslaved southern blacks) in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865, at the Washington Race Course, to remember the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

[Basementdweller]

pack....an interesting fact, I had no idea that even more than 100 years after the civil war feelings were still that close to the surface. Sad Sad state

 

Our Crew, Troop and Pack all marched as a group this morning.

[packsaddle]

Basement, in a small town not far from here they celebrated at the town memorial in the center of town (a monument which is disproportionately large compared to the tiny size of the town)...and devoted exclusively to the Confederate fallen. The federal offices were closed today. State offices were open and working. I haven't looked around the South but I'd be surprised if there weren't other states similarly ignoring the day. Not long ago, there were places in the South that would not even celebrate the 4th of July (although black folks held smaller unrecognized celebrations of the 4th).

Back in March I was astounded to hear Haley Barbour admit publicly that slavery was the cause of the Civil War. I suspect he lost a lot of support for that and it could partly explain his exit from running.

Yes, there are many bright spots of progress in the South. And yes, there are still havens of prejudice and hate. I am probably more sensitive to them because of the things I saw when I was growing up. That just means that I don't overlook them. They're there.

I think it would be wrong to forget the origin of Memorial Day. In contrast, Veteran's Day with its origin after WWI is a day to honor all who have given sacrifice without regard to race or region. And I appreciate that.

[BadenP]

packsaddle

 

Your post was both disturbing and pathetic at the same time. How many southern boys have lost their lives in all the wars this country has been involved in over time?

 

Personally I think your area is just an isolated case and not at all typical of the entire south, especially the larger urban centers. Additionally time itself will take care of those uneducated narrow minded people with such a bizzare outlook about what it means to be an American. Eventually those people with all of their prejudices will all be gone and forgotten.

[Eagle92]

BP,

 

I hate to say it, but some areas of the South still have the bigotry and racism. I myself was surprised at some things that still linger on at times. Yep MS, particularly Vicksburg, would not celebrate 4th of July because of that city's surrender in the Civil War falling on July 4th (that was as recent as 1997). I was also surprised that up to the mid 1980s, my district was divided into and all black and all white districts. Unfortunately some of that remains because if you look at the units, only 2 COs have integrated units. Now the segregation is by choice, but still.

 

But I agree with you, "those people with all of their prejudices will all be gone and forgotten."

 

[packsaddle]

BP, I hope you're right. The fact that no one has an actual living memory of the things they cling to from the late 1800's (not to mention whole new categories of hate groups since then) suggests that time alone will not rid us of these prejudices.

 

I apologize for the hijack. This unit placed memorial flags on all the graves in a local public cemetary, veterans and non-veterans alike, and held a flag ceremony for whoever wished to attend. There are usually about 30-40 people attending, maybe as many as 50 at times. People are often really nice and thank the boys for their service. Sometimes, there is a killdeer nest that must be guarded against pedestrians. The boys especially like that.(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

[Basementdweller]

I am blessed with not having to deal with such non-sense.

 

We have all the colors of the rainbow....And I would would never have it any other way.

[Twocubdad]

Question for you -- if your father served in Vietnam, two of your uncles were killed there and another was wounded and permanently disabled, do you think Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day and/or Veteran's Day may hold extra meaning to you?

 

It did for my grandfather as this was his family's experience with the Civil War. To my grandfather, the Civil War was not some abstract historical event he studied in school. He grew up every day with a father who had served in the war and lost brothers in it. He had widowed aunts who lived nearby who his family supported. When your family is so dramatically affected by a event, the larger political or even moral issues tend to take a back seat.

 

I grew up with Confederate Memorial Day as a separate holiday celebrated May 10 (the anniversary of Gen. Thomas Jackson's death). Although he was too old to do so, my grandfather always talked about needing to clean up the family cemetery where some of these folks were buried. That was the original purpose of both memorial days, to clean and decorate soldier's graves which is why it was originally known as Decoration Day.

 

Never was there a time when my grandfather -- or anyone else I've ever known -- showed anything but respect for the U.S. Memorial Day. As someone else said, there have been too many wars since then not to honor those who gave their lives in those wars too.

 

Today I honor Sgt. Harold Morris, my mom's uncle who rests in the American cemetery near Anzio, Italy, and my cousin, Captain Roy Williams, killed when his jet was shot down over Vietnam and who lies in the old family cemetery with my great-grandfather.

 

I won't make a distinction between the service and sacrifice each generation made for their country.

[beaver1onit]

This past Sataurday the troop place flags on veterans graves at four cemetaries with the veterens organization and later in the day held a flag burning ceremony.

Memorial day the troop marched in the parade and the boys carried all the veterans organization flags.

 

[Horizon]

We planted flags on Saturday. The graveyard has Veterans interreed going back to the Civil War, and my Scouts attention can be captured through some simple exercises such as finding the oldest grave, the newest grave, and a person from all branches of the military. This gets them reading the stones a little more, and helps lead them to a deeper discussion.

 

On Monday we were part of the presentation of colors for the ceremony itself. We will also often have a MB Counselor for American Heritage who has the boys talk to people as they assemble for Requirement 2 C& D:

 

c.With your counselor's approval, interview two veterans of the U.S. military. Find out what their experiences were like. Ask the veterans what they believe they accomplished.

 

d.With your counselor's approval, interview three people in your community of different ages and occupations. Ask these people what America means to them, what they think is special about this country, and what American traditions they feel are important to preserve.

 

[Herms]

I gave a short honor presentation at our COH on the 30th for a fellow shipmate, MC1 Victor Jeffries, I lost in Kuwait on 24 Dec 2007

[83Eagle]

We participate in our community memorial day service.

 

I am both proud of and distressed by the fact that out of 3 Packs that serve the community, ours is consistently the only one represented at the service, and we had 1/3 of our Pack there. Only 2 Boy Scouts. No Girl Scouts.