On Monday I attended the memorial service at Whiting's newly renovated Memorial Park at 119th and Oliver streets. The original memorial was dedicated back in 1951.
The service began after a small parade by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Whiting High School band.
The heads of different veterans group spoke, as did our mayor. They reminded the crowd of the sacrifices of those that served, never to return again, and the families that sacrificed their loved ones to the cause.
As one gentleman said, "It doesn't matter if the war is popular or unpopular; the sacrifice is the same."
It made me think how trivial my thoughts of not attending so I could get an early start in my garden were. Once there, I was truly glad I had gone. I found myself thinking of how few World War II veterans there were at the service today. It made me remember my dad, who always loved Memorial Day when he met and talked with his contemporaries at a small doing held afterward by the Legion.
So many have passed on. Even some of my contemporaries who served in Vietnam are now gone.
Our little city has a Vietnam war memorial with the etched pictures of our men who died there. Our community center is actually a memorial house that was built and dedicated to the memory of those who fought in World War I.
Our Whiting Lions just finished refurbishing a war memorial at Forsythe Park where they will hold a special Flag Day ceremony at 11 a.m. June 14. When we drive by these, do we even give them a second thought?
When I was a little kid, I remember Memorial Day weekend also was a time to visit and plant flowers at my grandfather's grave. Because more and more people are being cremated, the need to plant flowers or even have a headstone probably will grow to be a thing of the past. It saddens me that perhaps the next couple of generations may never actually visit a cemetery where a loved one they knew is buried.
At Monday's service, the VFW ladies put flowered wreaths on the memorial. Entangled in the flowers were little red poppies. The symbolism of the poppy comes from the 1915 poem "In Flanders Field" by John McCrae.
As it begins, "In Flanders Fields the poppies blow. Between the crosses, row on row that mark our place." Little did McCrae know there'd be another world war, as well as wars in Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, Desert Storm and now Iraq. It seems every generation since has had a war.
The phrase "Freedom is not free" was said twice Monday. Perhaps those of us for whom many have paid the price for our freedom should take a moment to make every day a memorial to their honor by getting involved in our communities, by voting and by renewing our own patriotic spirit. It's so little to do for those who gave so much.
- Gayle Faulkner Kosalko is secretary of the Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society. The opinions expressed are her own. Reach her at puccini99@aol.com or (219) 659-8129.
