On Monday, May 25 at 10 a.m. the Moorestown’s Annual Memorial Day ceremony will begin at Memorial Field on Church Street. The Memorial Day Ceremony has been an annual tradition for the last 29 years and is attended by hundreds of Moorestonians.
The very first Memorial Day ceremonies date back to the late 1800s, following the Civil War. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in 1868 an organization of Union Army Veterans, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to reunite after its most deadly and destructive war. The U.S. Civil War tested the strength of the United States and its citizens, and Decoration Day was an opportunity for healing. While many places in the United States claim to have been the first to observe this holiday, it was not until 1971 that Memorial Day was declared a National Holiday by an Act of Congress. The words of General John A. Logan of the GAR more than 100 years prior guide our observance of this holiday even now: “Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”
In addition to reserving the last Monday of May to remember all of the men and women who paid the ultimate price, in the year 2000, Congress passed another law creating the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. So this Memorial Day, as we enjoy picnics, the opening of local pools and the promise of summer just over the horizon, take a moment to think about the freedoms we enjoy as a nation. Take a moment to remember those who died in order to give us those freedoms.
The 2015 Memorial Ceremony will begin with music from the Moorestown High School Band under the direction of Chris Norris. Posting of the Colors will be done by Boy Scout Troop #44 and Cub Scout Troop #44 will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. The Invocation will be done by Pastor Ingrid Wengert of St. Matthew Lutheran Church and the Second Baptist Church Choir will provide a musical interlude.
So as we enjoy this 2015 Memorial Day, join together Moorestown, to remember those who paid the ultimate price to ensure our freedoms. Nearly 150 years after the first ceremonies were held, we will uphold the traditions and remember those men and women who have fallen during their service to our Country.
