MARYSVILLE — The Marysville Cemetery received more than 100 visitors for this year’s observance of Memorial Day conducted by Marysville American Legion Post 178 at 11 a.m., May 25.
Marysville American Legion Post Commander Jim Sewell thanked the rows of seated attendees, as well as those standing because there weren’t enough chairs, for taking the time to attend on such a warm and sunny day, before leading a round of applause for the Marysville Cemetery for maintaining their grounds so well. The day’s theme of “remembering those who have gone before us,” in his words, resonated throughout his remarks.
“During the 233 years our country has been in existence, we have been involved in a number of wars which have resulted in the deaths and injuries of countless thousands of our citizens in uniform,” Sewell said. “In particular, the Civil War was so bloody, and resulted in so many deaths on both sides, that the people called out for the creation of a holiday to remember them by, lest future generations would forget the terrible price paid during that conflict.”
Sewell noted that Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day and was signed as an order on May 5, 1868 by Maj. Gen. John Logan, commander in chief of the U.S. Army. While the order proscribed no specific form of ceremony, it designated the day as one for placing flowers and other decorations on the graves of those who died “in defense of their country” during the Civil War, as well as for conducting whatever services “circumstances might permit.” The stated goals of the order were not only to foster greater bonds among the branches of service, but also to ensure that “the cost of a free and undivided republic” would not be forgotten by future generations.
“So, here we stand, 141 years later, doing our best to live up to those words,” said Sewell, who recently spent a few weeks of duty with the Navy at Pearl Harbor, and then at Hickam Air Air Force Base in Honolulu. “While there, as Memorial Day approached, I was struck by the great sacrifices our fellow countrymen made on that day, in early December of 1941, and in the days, months and years that followed, until that great conflict was over. Maj. Gen. Logan’s words rang truer than ever as I stood looking at the underwater remains of the great battleship Arizona, where 1,177 sailors were killed and 1,102 found their final resting place.”
Sewell noted that the attack on Pearl Harbor sank four battleships and damaged three more, while also sinking or damaging three cruisers, three destroyers and one minelayer, in addition to destroying 188 aircraft, killing 2,402 Americans and wounding 1,282 more. He added that the Japanese eventually surrendered on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri, which was decommissioned and recommissioned several times during the next 50 years, serving in Korea, Vietnam and the first Persian Gulf War, after which it was decommissioned for good and turned into a museum, which now sits just a few hundred yards away from the Arizona memorial.
“To me, the ‘Mighty Mo,’ as it’s called, is standing watch over the sailors that lie below, and represents the fighting spirit of all our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that have gone before us, and paid the ultimate sacrifice, for us, for our children, and for our grandchildren,” Sewell said. “It also represents the hope, courage and determination of a united nation that arose out of the fire and ashes of the early days of World War II. We took one on the chin, but we got up, dusted ourselves off and eventually scored a knockout. The Missouri is there as our reminder.”
Sewell recognized the sacrifices of all the service men and women who have died in defense of their country, from the Revolutionary and Civil wars, through World Wars I and II, on up to the Korean and Vietnam wars, the first Persian Gulf War, and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He added his thanks to those local men and women who are currently serving, before quoting George Washington.
“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation,” Sewell said.
Marysville American Legion Post Chaplain Ken Cage placed three sets of flowers on a table, as Sewell explained their significance. The red flowers represent the memory of “those who shed their blood on the field of battle.” The white flowers symbolize “purity on this sacred soil, and may each future generation remember the unselfish courage of those who served under our nation’s starry banner.” The blue flowers honor “those who sleep beneath the ocean’s waves.”
Members of Marysville American Legion Post 178 then rendered a 21-gun salute to the dead, and taps were played for the fallen military members.
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