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Memorial Day. What is it really? How many of us remember the reason for the day? And to how many of our children is that knowledge passed down? I asked 40 random Colchester residents what “Memorial Day” means to them – over half responded with “beginning of summer,” “annual family picnic,” “a three-day weekend to travel,” or “time to kick-back.”
How fitting that the Colchester Memorial Day Parade Committee has chosen “Colchester Honors Its Soldiers and Sailors Who Died in the Civil War” as the theme for this year’s parade. The Civil War was the culmination of decades of intense conflict and deep-seated economic, social, and political differences between the North and the South. By the end of the war, more than 620,000 men and women (some women fought disguised as men) had been killed; America was on the brink of being torn apart. Colchester residents played a significant part in that war.
According to the census bureau, the population of Colchester was 2,862 in 1860. This number included both women and children, neither of whom could serve. Local history teacher, John Malsbenden’s research, shows that 203 men served and, of those, 31 died and 27 were wounded. Additionally, Hayward Rubber Company supplied much of the army’s footwear; Henry Crocker, a Colchester native, received the Congressional Medal of Honor; Lyman Trumbull, an Illinois senator born in Colchester, co-authored the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery in the United States; and, many of the statesmen of the time and military leaders were graduates of Bacon Academy.
First Memorial Day was first officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, who declared May 30, 1868 "as a day for strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of~comrades who died in defense of their country, and whose bodies now lie in~almost every city, village, or hamlet churchyard in the land...It is the purpose of~ the commander-in-chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will~ be kept from year to year while a survivor of the war remains to honor the~ memory of the departed." In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared Memorial Day a federal holiday to honor all who have died in military service to our country.
We need to remember those who paid the price for our many freedoms and honor those who died serving our country. We must never let them be forgotten. We owe our honored men and women more than we can ever repay.
This Sunday, May 25th, the Memorial Day parade steps off at 12:30 p.m. from William J. Johnston Middle School. I hope to see the parade route lined with all of Colchester’s residents as we join together to honor our loved ones, our neighbors, friends and residents who have given the ultimate sacrifice for us. Teach our children to honor the flag as it passes – for all that it means and provides to us. Come together at the Veteran’s Green for the ceremony to honor our men and women who fought to give us the many freedoms we enjoy today.
I look forward to seeing each and every one of you on Sunday.
Linda
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