St. Mary’s County
It was April 25, 1866. The War Between the States, that claimed 620,000 casualties from both sides, was mercifully over. Confederate widows had gathered at the town cemetery in Columbus, MS to place fresh spring flowers on their husband’s graves. They noticed that the graves of Union soldiers were unadorned. In an act of kindness they placed flowers on those graves too. That show of compassion spread around the country and led to creation of Decoration Day that later became the Memorial Day that was celebrated in Southern Maryland and around the country Monday, May 25.

The largest and oldest Memorial Day ceremony in St. Mary’s County is held every year at the American Legion Post 255 in Ridge. Post Commander Skip Disharoon observed that those Americans killed in combat are not only laid to rest on American soil, but in cemeteries around the world, including “In Flanders fields the poppies blow. Between the crosses, row on row,”

Guest speaker Patuxent River Naval Air Station Commanding Officer Capt. Heidi Fleming observed that more than a million American men and women have made the supreme sacrifice throughout our country’s history, including 400,000 in Vietnam. She pointed out that the customary ceremony is to raise the American flag all the way up and then return it to half-staff until noon when it is raised back up to remind those living “to continue to fight for liberty and justice for all.”

Capt. Fleming concluded her remarks by saying, “Let us never take our freedom for granted, It is not free. It has come at great cost.”

State Senator Steve Waugh [R – District 29] told of MSgt Ken Hunt, who had served under him and was killed in 2005 when his Humvee hit an IED.  “He was a great man, said Waugh. “We are here today to honor great men and women who lost their lives. We have to make their sacrifice worthwhile through our actions.”

The event began with a Ridge Rumble motorcycle entrance down Route 5. Colors were presented by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Department Color Guard, Great Mills High School Junior ROTC, American Legion Post 221 and Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Wreaths were laid at the memorial in front of the post home by American Legion Post 255 representatives, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 26 and auxiliary, the Charlotte Hall veterans Home, Fleet Reserve Branch 93, several Confederate veterans organization, Ridge VFD, Ridge VRS, and Knights of Columbus. Post art contest winner Charles Keister of St. Michaels School also laid a wreath of poppies at the memorial.

Charles County
Since the first American army was formed in 1775, more than one million men and woman have helped protect their country through military service. The Town of La Plata always remembers its citizens who gave the ultimate sacrifice in that service, and Monday, May 25 citizens gathered once again to honor those heroes.

“ ‘There is no greater loving sacrifice I can make than to die for another’ is something every sailor, every solider understands,” said Captain Mary Feinberg, commanding officer for Naval Support Activity South Potomac at La Plata’s ceremony. “We honor them, we praise them, and we must never forget them.”

Feinberg gave a brief history on Memorial Day, telling the touching story of how Confederate widows in Columbus, Mississippi, while tending the graves of rebel dead, noticed that nearby graves of Union soldiers were overgrown and in disarray.

Through compassion, she noted, they began to clean their enemy’s graves as well. There were other stories as well, of pharmacist Henry Wells, who closed his business for one day in 1866 as “a gesture of healing” before the first official Memorial Day in 1882.

The ceremony including the traditional laying of the wreaths at the town’s memorial, a roll call of deceased veterans by members of American Legion Post 82, and two selections by the Schubert Singers.

The Navy commander lamented what the holiday represents in modern times.
“Many Americans have lost their connection to our history,” Feinberg noted. “Now Memorial Day is simply a three-day holiday.”

She said less than 5 percent of America’s population serves in the military and that a mere 7 percent of the population are now veterans.

The continued efforts of those who protect our nation “is the greatest tribute we can give those who served,” she said.

Calvert County
Calvert County’s observances of Memorial Day took place Saturday morning, May 23 and Monday afternoon, May 25.

Saturday’s event at Veterans Memorial Park in Chesapeake Beach was the official opening ceremony of the bayside town’s Fourth annual Stars and Stripes Festival. The focus of the festival this year was on the Korean War.

The ceremony’s guest speaker was retired Army Colonel William E. Weber, a Korean War veteran who was wounded during the early 1950s conflict. “We were sent to preserve freedom and that’s what we did,” said Weber, who lamented the United States’ mission to stave off Communist domination of South Korea is not given the historic significance it deserves. “It’s fallen through the cracks of history. Why is it forgotten? Our history books don’t answer that. We fought to save the world from Communism.”

Weber also noted during its duration, the Korean War resulted in approximately 4,000 U.S. casualties a month.

Also addressing the gathering was Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan, who was born and raised on a farm in South Korea over five years after the conflict ended. The Free State’s First Lady indicated she was brought up to appreciate the U.S. efforts to keep her native country free of communist rule.

“I wouldn’t be here without you,” Hogan told the veterans in the audience.
Other highlights of the Veterans Park ceremony included Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary George W. Owings’ comments prior to Mrs. Hogan’s remarks, patriotic music provided by the U.S. Naval Academy Band Brass Quintet and the presentation of the colors by the Huntingtown High School Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) Color Guard.

The Memorial Day Ceremony at Veterans Green in Prince Frederick Monday, May 25 included the solemn practice of laying wreaths at four separate monuments by NJROTC cadets, the playing of taps and a gun salute by American Legion Post 274’s Honor Guard.

The guest speaker was Sheriff Mike Evans, an Army veteran. Four NJROTC cadets also spoke, reflecting on the significance of Memorial Day. Patriotic music selections were performed by the Chesapeake Community Chorus.

Contact The Bay Net Staff at news@thebaynet.com