News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters area residents gathered at the Camp Polk Pioneer Cemetery on Monday, May 31, to honor the fallen of America's wars in a stirring Memorial Day tribute.
In his keynote address, Captain Norman Scott, U.S. Navy, Ret., described the post-Civil War origins of Memorial Day remembrance.
He cited future president James Garfield's remarks at the first official ceremony in 1868. Garfield observed that, through facing the supreme test of combat, the fallen warriors of the Civil War had displayed the "highest virtues of men and citizens" and that, "for love of country, they accepted death."
Scott noted that "warfare should not be the preoccupation of humankind," and to ensure that war does not touch us all, some have paid the full price of answering the call to arms.
"To decorate their graves today and forget about their sacrifice tomorrow would, indeed be an unpardonable sin," Scott said.
Yet to fully honor them for what they have sacrificed for the rest of us, Scott said, it is not enough to remember; we must uphold the virtues and values for which they fought.
An honor guard of local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion members conducted the call to colors and a firing squad of local military recruiters offered the salute at the end of the ceremony.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)