Memorial Day

Memorial Day, 2022
Shortly after the American Civil War, Decoration Day was started in a number of towns. It is called Decoration Day because the graves of the fallen were decorated with flowers. In 1968, Congress passed an act making Memorial Day the Fourth Monday of May.
In 1887, a ceremony was held at Butternut Ridge Cemetery and Turkey Foot Cemetery to honor those that died in war. At the ceremony flowers were dropped into the river in remembrance of those that never returned.
One brief note: over the years the cemetery has been known by a number of names: Turkey Foot (for the turkeys that roosted there); Union Cemetery for the Village of Olmsted Falls, Village of West View, and Olmsted Township that came together as a group to maintain and protect the cemetery; and Chestnut Grove Cemetery. If you visit Old Chestnut Grove you will find Civil War soldiers Also at St. Mary of the Falls Cemetery on Bagley Road.
We would like to thank Trudy Wilmink and Terri Grospitch for re-establishing this tradition of honoring those that never came home here at the American Legion Post 403 monument.
If you look to the east, this flag flew over USS VULCAN, AR-5. Some of you may be familiar with the Goodall family from Olmsted Falls. Lt. Commander Tom Goodall was an officer on the VULCAN when we corresponded with her.
Before World War Two, the American destroyer USS KEARNY (DD-432) was torpedoed on the starboard side by a German U-boat. The destroyer managed to get to Reykjavik, Iceland, where USS VULCAN made temporary, emergency repairs to the destroyer. This was done be counter flooding KEARNY so that as the port side went lower in the water, the starboard side cleared the water. KEARNY then sailed to Boston for permanent repairs.
The two signal flags below - “B” (“BRAVO” )and “Z” (“ZULU”) were sent to us by Commander David Clark and the USS SEMMES (DDG-18). It is the only OFFICIAL congratulatory signal the Navy uses.
We must not ignore the sacrifices made for all of us: World War One, World War Two, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Cold War. Okinawa, D-Day, Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, Fallujah, Tora Bora. Those that fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.
But even in peace time, there is danger.
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Link of Ceremony HERE