Remembering those we lost

On Memorial Day, St. Juvin Post 1336 will join the community in saluting the men and women who served in defense of our nation, paying particular note to those from the community who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Memorial Day is a day set aside to pay tribute to the men and women who gave their lives in defense of freedom. In all, 761 Coal City area residents were called to military service from World War I to Vietnam and 24 of them did not return home. Post 1336 will host a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 30, the first in-person remembrance event since 2019. Commander James “Hoppy” Phillips said post members will gather on the campus of Coal City Intermediate School, 305 E. Division St., site of the community veteran’s monument at 11:15 a.m. The ceremony is set to start at 11:30 a.m. During the ceremony the names of those from the community who died in service will be read. There will be a three-round volly and playing of Taps. Then at noon, post members will raise the American flag and the flags representing each branch of military service to full staff. The history of Memorial Day dates back to three years after the Civil War ended, May 5, 1868, when the head of an organization of Union veterans—the Grand Army of the Republic—established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Major General John A. Logan of Illinois declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington Mansion, once the home of General Robert E. Lee. It was not until after World War I that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then it was placed as the last Monday in May. To ensure the sacrifices of America’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law, the National Moment of Remembrance Act, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day for one minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. Ken Buck, superintendent of the Grundy County Veterans Assistance Commission [GCVAC] reports the time of 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather, it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, along or with family and friends, honor those who died in service to the United States. In addition to the ceremony in Coal City, GCVAC has shared observances will also take place in various locations throughout the area including Mazon where American Legion Post 352 will gather at 11 a.m. for a service in Mazon Park and the John Martin Steele VFW Post 6049 will observe the day with a parade through Morris starting at Chapin Park at 10:30 a.m. and making its way to the Grundy County Courthouse for a ceremony at 11 a.m. Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood will host its observance at 11 a.m. on May 30. In advance of the day, the cemetery is in need of volunteers for the set up and removal of gravesite flags. Flag set up will be Friday, May 27 beginning at 9 a.m. Anyone interested in assisting with the project should meet at the cemetery’s main flagpole. Removal will be on Tuesday, May 31 beginning at 8:30 a.m.