Gone But Not Forgotten

Written By: Mary Jane McCall | Issue: May 2023

The Memorial Day service will include remarks by Highlands Mayor Pat Taylor and Post Commander Ed McCloskey will act as master of ceremonies and keynote speaker.

Chaplain Zach Claxton will give the opening prayer and Past Commander and Post Bugler Ed Jones will play taps. Post 370 veteran members, family, friends and the public are encouraged to gather at 10:00 A.M. on Memorial Day, May 29, in Highlands at Veterans Plaza located across from the Police Station and behind Town Hall.

Memorial Day honors more than 1 million servicemen and women who fought to defend our country from the time of the American Revolution through the War on Terror. They paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for our country.

President John F. Kennedy famously said, “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. The path we shall never choose, is the path of surrender, or submission.”

The first national observance of Memorial Day was on May 30, 1868. General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic selected May 30, 1868 as a day to honor the fallen. At the time it was known as Decoration Day. The holiday was proclaimed to honor the Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War. Logan apparently chose May 30 because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. By the late 1860s, many towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers. Mary Ann Williams of Columbus, Georgia proposed the “idea of strewing the graves of Civil War soldiers – Union and Confederate” with flowers.  Her idea has become a tradition that remains alive to this day.

Official Recognition of Memorial Day happened in New York in 1873. By 1890, every state had adopted it. The World Wars turned it into a day of remembrance for all members of the U.S. military who fought and died in service. In 1971, Congress standardized the holiday as “Memorial Day” and changed its observance to the last Monday in May.

Several customs have grown around Memorial Day and they include placing flags on Veterans graves. This year Phil Potts will continue his tradition of placing flags at the Highlands Cemetery on Thursday, May 25, at 5:30 P.M. Veterans, families and friends are welcome to join Phil and members of Highlands American Legion Post 370 in placing the flags.

Just before Memorial Day the American Legion traditionally offers Poppies, the classic Memorial Day symbol, for sale to commemorate the service of all veterans. The well-known John McRae poem, “In Flanders Fields” was inspired by the poet/soldier’s special moment when he saw poppies scattered throughout the battlefield surrounding his artillery position in  Belgium. The flowers filling the war-torn battlefield in this iconic display of tragedy and beauty gave the author the inspiration to write the poem. Poppies will go on sale again this year in front of Brysons grocery near the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Memorial Day is a solemn time of year when the country honors the ultimate sacrifice of its veterans. Join your local American Legion Post 370 at our memorial day service rain or shine on May 29 at 10:00 AM at Veterans Plaza.