Nicholas R. Loveless of Lawrence
As Memorial Day approaches, area cemeteries will be brightened by small red, white and blue flags. American flags that sparkle in the breeze as they stand in silent salute and pay tribute to our men and women that answered the call to duty in time of war. It is a scene that will be repeated in every city and town throughout our land.
The custom of decorating veteran’s graves can be traced back to Columbus, Miss. Two years after the end of the Civil War, women of that city began strewing flowers on not only Confederate graves, but Federal ones as well. In May 1868, John A. Logan, Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued an order naming the May 30 as a day to be set aside to decorate the graves of comrades who died in the service of the country. It was eventually declared Decoration Day and made a national holiday by Congress.
The custom grew over the years, as America became engaged in World War I and II, and a new and deeper meaning emerged. It was felt that Decoration Day was too superficial to express the profound emotion to which the occasion was dedicated. Congress then redesignated the day to be Memorial Day. In the post-war years the American workforce enjoyed longer weekends and sought to change the traditional date of Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, creating a three-day weekend. In spite of protests from veteran organizations, Congress eventually established the last Monday of May as the official Memorial Day.
In Lawrence, there are four cemeteries in which veterans are interred. The oldest is the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Churchyard, where both Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans are buried. The Princessville Cemetery has four Civil War graves. A small cemetery at Morris Hall contains several graves of Civil War veterans that spent their remaining days at Morris Hall. The largest of Lawrence’s cemeteries, and still open for burials is the Lawrenceville Upper Cemetery. Here lie the remains of veterans of the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam.
A week prior to Memorial Day, American flags will be placed at the head of every known resting-place of veterans of all wars. For a brief time we will know that they, and the sacrifices they made, are not forgotten.
