Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day. May we remember for what this day stands. Community night planned at church A community movie night will be held Saturday on the lawn at Emmanuel United Methodist Church, 802 Summit Ave. in Hagerstown. Activities begin at 6 p.m. and the band begins playing at 7 p.m. There will be games, free food and music by Prevenient Grace from Washington Square United Methodist Church. The public is invited. Emma K. Doub Elementary Tuesday — Fifth-grade picnic Hagerstown Lioness Club The Hagerstown Lioness Club will hold its regular club meeting Thursday, June 9, at the Academy Theatre Banquet & Conference Center in downtown Hagerstown.

When James Warner and his comrades were freed from a prisoner of war camp, they waited until the C-140 pilot said they were out of Vietnam before cheering. "We refused to show any emotion (when being freed) because we didn't want the enemy to see that," Warner said. Warner, a U.S. Marine Corps captain, spent 5 1/2 years in captivity. The Rohrersville, Md., resident went on to serve as a domestic policy adviser for President Ronald Reagan and argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case challenging the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. On Monday evening, Warner delivered the keynote address at Smithsburg's Memorial Day commemoration.

It was a time to pay tribute, and in ways as varied as those who saw fit to signify Memorial Day. Wayne Taylor honored U.S. veterans during a ceremony Monday at Martin L. "Marty" Snook Memorial Park by holding up a copy of The Air Force Times. The May 30 edition of the paper listed 556 Americans who have died in war zones in the last year. There was a photograph of each military member in the list, along with his or her age and background information. Taylor, serving as master of ceremonies at Monday's ceremony, said he was struck by the ages of service people on the list.

In the late 1860s, people began flying flags at half-staff and decorating their towns to remember soldiers who died in the Civil War. Today, thousands of people place flags on the gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery each Memorial Day to honor fallen soldiers. Communities around the country held ceremonies Monday in commemoration of fallen servicemen and women, including one in Greencastle's Cedar Hill Cemetery. Preceded by the Memorial Day parade sponsored by American Legion Post 373 and VFW Post 6319, more than 50 people came together to recognize the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States of America.

"Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance. " American Legion Post 15 Commander Jim Minteer opened Waynesboro's Memorial Day service Monday with words about loss. The service began with the dedication of two trees planted for Sgt. Edward W. Shaffer and Staff Sgt. Richard Tieman, two Franklin County, Pa., soldiers killed in the current conflicts. "America cannot restore what was lost, but we here in Waynesboro, Pa., can dedicate a tree in their memory," Minteer said. After Waynesboro's morning parade, a crowd gathered in Memorial Park by the wall built for service members.

Dozens of people gathered in front of the Washington County Courthouse Sunday afternoon to remember the beginnings of Memorial Day when it was “baptized with the tears of families” mourning over soldiers killed in the Civil War. Timothy J. Cooke, associate director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg, W.Va., relayed the story of Memorial Day during a service organized by Morris Frock Post 42 of the American Legion. Cooke told the crowd about how Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, was so moved by the loving devotion to veterans after the Civil War that he designated a day to remember them.

Holidays are like rules and records. They all seem to be made to be broken. We give them literal and figurative definitions and then choose the one that benefits our situation the most. Holiday, by literal definition, is a day when work is suspended to commemorate an event. Holiday, by figurative definition, is when work is suspended for an extra day off that gives us time to do the things we tend to ignore. Figuratively, that’s why Christmas and Easter have changed over time.

Boonsboro remembered the fallen Sunday during a solemn Memorial Day service. Then the southern Washington County town’s downtown was filled with sounds of celebration as onlookers cheered, applauded and waved as a parade of musicians, Cub Scouts, cheerleaders and public servants came down Main Street. Many of the people in the parade, including politicians and children, tossed candy to the spectators as they made their way down the parade route. Children darted around adults and parked vehicles to pick up Tootsie Rolls, chocolates, licorice and other candies.

Through prayer, music, Civil War re-enactors in period dress, an honor guard and speeches, Rose Hill Cemetery paid tribute to Memorial Day in a service Saturday. "It's good to see Americans honor our war veterans," said Gary Seavolt of Clear Spring. His wife, Marguerite, said she wanted to attend the Rose Hill Cemetery service for some time and was able to for the first time this year. She said she has a deepened appreciation for veterans because of their son's service in the U.S. Air Force.