Faithful make Memorial Day something to remember

Published 2:26 pm Wednesday, May 29, 2019

The skies of iron-gray matched the solemnity of the occasion. The flags rippled by constant breeze, did their part to mark the gravity of Memorial Day. Originally called Decoration Day, the last Monday in May honors those who came to their final reckoning in the nation’s service.

Its observance started as a sort of unofficial commemoration of the dead shortly after the nation’s own peculiar Armageddon, the Civil War. The ensuing years saw more conflict and war. The tradition did not abate. It finally became a federally recognized holiday in 1971.

Wallowa County has the highest per capita veteran population in the state. These men and women know the meaning of duty, and many, members of either the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion, make the rounds of the county’s cemeteries on the last Monday of May each year to ensure none of the fallen lay forgotten.

The culmination of the observance ends at the county courthouse, the grounds that harbor the Fountain of Honor, with its inscribed walls, benches and bricks a reminder of those who serve and have served.

After the raising of the flag, the singing of the anthem, the warble of trumpets, the reading of the names of the departed over the past year and the parting salute by rifle fire, one thing is clear: We in Wallowa County remember.