Posted: 5/29/2005 6:17:45 AM EDT
Thankyou to those of you that served our great country . Thankyou to those serving this great country now . Thankyou to those that give thier lives for this great country . God bless you all .  A Memorial Day lesson By Frank Mazzaglia / Local View Sunday, May 29, 2005 Framingham's Collin Kelly is only 9 years old, but he got it right when it came to honoring veterans. Collin decided to raise some money to decorate the graves of forgotten veterans with flowers. The rules at the Edgell Grove Cemetery don't allow planting flowers on graves that belong to somebody else so he couldn't. However, cemetery authorities relented enough to allow him to place flowers on the graves provided they were cleaned up later. Anyway, that's all beside the point. What Collin demonstrated was the kind of heart that veterans everywhere admire. Memorial Day isn't what it used to be. For many, it's just a three day holiday and a chance to get away. For others, it's a time for family cook-outs. Nevertheless, for veterans who try very hard to forget the horrors of war and rarely speak of it to others, this is a holiday marked by sacred memories of fallen comrades. For veterans who have experienced the fury of battle, this is a day when they can be with each other one more time. They know, but for the grace of God and the uncertain fortunes of war, that they too might well have made the supreme sacrifice. Now they are all together again, both the living and the dead. The silent rows of white crosses and six-pointed stars marking the graves of so very many young patriots give testimony to the fact that the price of our freedom has been paid for at a terribly high price. Memorial Day originated in 1867 when the townspeople of Waterloo, N.Y. flew flags at half staff, and decorated the graves of veterans with wreaths and flowers. A year later, General John Logan named May 30 as the official day to honor deceased Union soldiers. As it turned out, women in the south had been decorating the graves of Confederate soldiers even before the end of the Civil War and continued the practice until after World War I when it was decided to honor all deceased veterans on the same day. In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," a woman named Moina Michael began selling poppies to benefit needy servicemen, and in 1922 the Veterans of Foreign Wars sold artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. Somewhere in the late 1950s, soldiers of the 3rd US Infantry began placing small American flags at each of the 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery just before Memorial Day. In almost every community, this tradition is still carried on by the American Legion or other veteran groups, scouts, and community organizations. To insure a three day weekend for federal holidays, the National Holiday Act of 1971 set the observance of Memorial Day for the last Monday of May. Fearing that the day would lose its solemnity, several attempts were made to make it special. In 2001, Congress called upon all Americans at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day "to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of Remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence of listening to 'Taps."' This year, each community will celebrate Memorial Day in its own way. Parades will wind their way to cemeteries to honor the dead of all wars. Tears will still fall as veterans mark the graves of brave men and women with flags. Collin Kelly is still a little boy, but he's worth watching. One day when he is older, Collin will come to realize that there are soldiers and veterans alike who have been deeply touched by that sincere gesture from his kind and grateful young heart. He may not see it now, but they are proud of him and what he has done. From all of us who have served, thank you, Collin! You and your friends who provided those flowers have reminded a lot of people about the true meaning of Memorial Day. Frank R. Mazzaglia can be reached at www.frankmazzaglia.com
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