Memorial Day

Lindenwood Illinois

Sorry, I am going away from boot camp for a favored memory.

One of my favorite memories from growing up in the small northern Illinois town of Lindenwood was the Memorial Day service. The service had its roots in the original Memorial day observances. At one time, it was called Decoration Day. This was because the graves of veterans were decorated with flowers to honor the service of the departed veterans.

Many towns erected a monument to all of the fallen veterans from the area. On Memorial Day, the people would gather and read the names of those veterans who had either fallen in battle or passed away afterward. As the names were read, flowers were also laid on the memorial. This was done by different groups of the young townspeople or everyone in attendance.

In my town, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts were given the honor of placing the flowers on the stone. I am not totally sure when it started for me, but the morning started off early, just after breakfast. I would go to the small local fire department with my day to get buckets for the flowers we would collect. Many of the local ladies allowed us to cut flowers from their gardens for the ceremony.

I remember riding my bike around town with a small bucket to collect flowers. The grass would be typically wet with dew as I made my way to different houses for different flowers. Some of the ladies would meet me so they could cut their own. Others would allow me to do it. I had to make sure not to cut all the flowers from one spot. Spread it out.

There were usually more than enough ladies who volunteered to donate flowers for the cause, so that was never an issue. Each trip back to the fire station, I would drop off and get a new bucket. By the third or fourth trip, more men were showing up to wash the trucks. Some of the wives would have made coffee cake or maybe had driven into town to get us donuts. The men were drinking coffee, and I typically had a glass of milk.

A couple of my friends would generally join me, and the gathering went a little quicker then. We probably had this wrapped up sometime around 9:30 or so. One of the older kids in town had started to mow the small lawn at the fire department by the time the sun had dried the grass. I remember the weather on each Memorial Day as warm and humid.

The next big task that would take us until right about lunchtime was marking the Veteran's graves with flags. Some of the graves did have the brass marker to hold the Flag, while others did not. I remember there was always a discussion between the men about getting more markers. We did add a few while I was young, and I know since then, they have added more.

Home for lunch and the final prep for the afternoon activities.

The men home from work had the fire trucks all shined up. We had to set up chairs in the grade school gym for everyone to sit in, while the flowers we gathered sat on the stage. One of the local living veterans typically gave a short talk about the honor and sacrifice of serving the military. Also, the local clergy would offer prayer and often a short scriptural lesson.

Our small town had its share of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veterans. One of those was a man who served on Admiral Nimitz staff during WWII. Several of my uncles had served in WWII and Korea. My father was in the Army Reserves in the early 1960s. My mom's dad did not get to serve in WWII because he was a farmer.

Afterward, the local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts would lead a march out to the cemetery, followed by the fire trucks. This was probably a good 1 ½ trip. Before I was old enough to take part, I would follow behind on my bike with my other young friends. We really did not understand the importance of the day, yet, but we liked to take part anyway we could.

At the Cemetery, the crowd gathered around the memorial stone. Again there was another prayer, and then the reading of the Veteran's names began. The area of Illinois where Lindenwood is was initially populated by veterans from the War of 1812. Veteran's names were read, starting with the War of 1812 and went all the way up to Vietnam. In the following years, a veteran from the Revolutionary War has had his name added to the list as well.

Some of those men gave their lives during the specified war, others passed away after. With each name, one of the Boy Scouts or Cub Scouts would lay a flower for that Veteran on the Memorial Stone. When the names were all read, the Firmen would fire three volleys, 21 total.

In later years we would also have taps played by a member of the Boy Scouts. One particular year we had two trumpeters. They played the echo version of taps.

When I finally was old enough for Cub Scouts, I was thrilled to be part of the ceremony. My mom would help me get my uniform all perfect. This was when I had my first experience at marching. Then as a Boy Scout, I could not wait until I was one of the senior scouts so I would carry the American Flag while marching. After I left Lindenwood for college and later for the Navy, I did try to make it back each year for the ceremony. 

In May 1990, I was able to spend the afternoon present in my uniform. I technically was not allowed to leave Great Lakes at the time, working in the galley company had strange restrictions on us. I did ask the petty officer in charge. He said, "I can't technically let you go. But, if you make it back on time, there is nothing I can do." Again in 1992, I was able to attend the service in uniform. This time my Chief at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital was very understanding. This time as a more "seasoned" Sailor, I spent a good deal of time speaking to all the local men about the Navy.


Since then, I have tried to attend and service for Memorial Day, no matter where I have lived. I know many of us have spent Memorial Days all over the globe in different locations.
I hope each and every one of you has an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. I will return for my final boot camp memories next week.