This grave is located in the Masonic Cemetery in Farmington, MO.
Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” – Franklin D Roosevelt
Memorial Day is upon us. I know some of you out there aren’t going to believe this but there is a real purpose and reason for Memorial Day other than going out and seeing how hard you can party for three days. It is a holiday with true meaning and really shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Memorial day was first observed on May 30, 1868 and in 1971 by an act of Congress it was declared a national holiday. The day of observance was also changed from May 30 to the last Monday in May. It is also referred to as “Decoration Day”. The practice of decorating soldiers graves has been a custom for some time even before the Civil War.
In 1868 Memorial Day ceremonies began at Gettysburg National Park but wasn’t known nationally until 1913. That year veterans of the United States Army and Confederate Army converged on Gettysburg to commemorate the most famous and bloodiest battle of the Civil War.
Picture taken by me in the Masonic Cemetery located in Farmington, MO.
There will be a special ceremony at this Revolutionary Soldier’s grave tomorrow but I am sorry I don’t know the time.
“For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” – James A. Garfield
My office at K of P Cemetery located in Farmington, Mo.
As I sit here writing my mind is taken back many years ago when I was a child and we would go camping upon the banks of the St. Francois River at a place we dubbed “sandy banks” located just below the Lake Wappapello dam. There are a lot of great memories on those banks. It has been at least 45 years since I have been there but it just seems just like yesterday.
War brings so many casualties and adds to the populations of the cemeteries. This is the day that was designated by Congress to remember those that lost their lives while serving in the military. To all you party revelers out there, you have had two days to play and party hard. I ask that you take one minute of your time today and have a moment of silence for those brave men and women who paid the ultimate price with their lives.
I mow three cemeteries and know for a fact that a lot of graves never receive flowers or visitors. I would like to see a movement in this country where folks adopt one of those soldiers graves and decorate it with flowers. You don’t have to know them to place flowers on their graves.
My great grandparents headstone located in Arkansas.
Many areas of the country also decorate the graves of their family members regardless of them not being a vet.
In closing I want to wish everyone a safe holiday and if you are traveling be careful. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it.
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