I love Memorial Day! As a child I looked forward to it with so much excitement! Just before 9:30 on those late spring mornings, I felt the rumble of the American Legion marching band coming down our street. As they approached, neighbors came streaming out of their houses, and the children congregated along the sidewalk elbowing for a great vantage point. The blare of the bugles and the cacophony of the drums pounded so much anticipation into the air around me, I thought my heart would burst.
I loved the various uniforms of the musical groups. Some dressed with a flair like Zorro and others sported the military standards. I picked one fast stepping soldier and marched along side him all the way to the Parkwood cemetery several blocks down the street. Once we passed the cannon in the park entrance, the bands circled and stopped with a great “Hut, Hut!” at the American flag. Speakers spoke of war and sacrifice and love of country. I did not at that age fully understand the sobriety of the occasion of remembering our fallen in foreign wars. But I did know that we had a glorious flag that you raise and lower with respect and that men and women once gave their lives to keep it flying.
Then the big moment arrived; at least for the children, it was the high point of the march. A color guard of soldiers snapped their rifles off of their shoulders and aimed at the sky. A 21 gun salute fired from their guns. The shell casings dropped noisily to the ground after each round was fired. I scrambled to get one along with countless other kids. I managed to pick one up and proudly put it in my pocket. I had a treasured memento to show for my Memorial Day adventure. I no longer have that yellow gold metal cartridge after the many years which have ensued, but I have the memory of honoring those who died in service to their country with great stirring music and inspiring words. That sense of patriotism is treasure indeed.
lindamusings 
Wonderful post, Linda. You are a masterful word painter.
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My parents and other family members are buried at Parkwood, but I never knew there was a Memorial parade into the area. That would have made my mother so happy! She is buried near a statue of a sailor, and her birthday was May 29, right near Memorial Day. She was red, white and blue, proud to be an American. Her great-great grandfather helped defend Ft. McHenry in the Battle of 1812 that we in Baltimore continued to celebrate as Old Defender’s Day. Incredibly, he saved the flag from the battlefield, and it stayed in our family for many generations. I carried a strip of it around in my wallet for years, which was a custom dating back to that era. It is pale and fragile now, just a thin, gray slip of silken fibers. Yet my enthusiasm for the power of freedom is as strong and true as your excitement as a child when the vets went marching by, and we are not alone. Despite the jaded clamor otherwise, many still value the sacrifices made and treasure our rights to breathe free! Thanks for sharing your Memorial Day story, Linda! I needed that.
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Thanks for sharing your story as well. I don’t think they have this parade anymore. Not sure but I think it was characteristic of a by gone era. I would cherish the Fort McHenry flag too. What a treasure. Have you visited the fort recently? They have visitors fold and unfold a giant replica of the original flag. Very moving.
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What flag are you referencing, one on the battlefield?
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The American flag that flew over the veterans’ part of the cemetery.
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I have no such memories in my family of Memorial Day. Yom Kippur was the closest Remembrance Day celebration.
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Well one is secular and patriotic and one is religious. Good to remember all important events.
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