Community Corner
Looking For a Few Good Men and Women
Are you a veteran? If so, you are invited to march in the town of Clinton's annual Memorial Day parade.
The American Legion, the VFW and the people of Clinton are looking for Veterans of all ages, sizes and deployments to heed this call. Anyone in the Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy and or Coast Guard...we want you!!!
Our Memorial Day is approaching, always a wonderful event when so many Clintonians line the sides of our Boston Post Road to honor those men and women who have given their lives for our country!
All of us must remember Logan's Orders. "Let no neglect or ravages of time, testify to the present or upcoming generations that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of Freedom!"
Memorial Day has a storied past. It began most likely during the Civil War, when organized women groups in the South would decorate the graves of soldiers lost in battle. It was then known as Decoration Day. In 1868 the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic officially claimed it would henceforth be called Memorial Day and after the First World War the day changed from just honoring only those having died in the Civil War to honoring all veterans having given their life in any American War.
The solemnness of the day is obvious as the Color Guard and Veterans visit each of our cemeteries. They present the colors, wreaths are laid, a gun salute and then Taps is played by a lone trumpeter and his echo. Each ceremony really makes one remember that war is for real and that some of Clinton's own men and women have died.
Many think of Memorial Day as the beginning of summer and a three day holiday. To remind us all of the true meaning, a resolution was passed by Congress in 2000 which is called the 'National Moment of Remembrance.' This asks all of us to observe a moment of silence at 3:00pm local time, to remember, reflect and honor those who have died in the service of our country and to show respect for all who have served, whether it be in war time or in peace.
After the Morgan and Eliot School bands play and the Little Leaguers and Scouts and Firemen and Police march and all the heart-felt speeches on the Liberty Green are said, we will all go to the Pierson School lawn for a picnic of hotdogs, chips, water and ice cream ...free for all, hosted by Partners in Community (PIC) and the Clinton 350 Committee....it is good we can gather.
And we will have the time to mingle amongst our children, our neighbors and our Veterans and hope that one day soon there will be an end to all war!! We will sing and relax and be so very grateful that we live in...The Home Of The Free...Because Of The Brave!
--written by Jane Scully Welch
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