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Hollie Atkinson's column appears in the
Marshall
News Messenger every Saturday morning.
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May 24, 2003
This is Memorial Day weekend. While most of our citizenry see it only as the
weekend that officially marks the summer vacation period, it is much more than
that.
The practice began in 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan, commander in chief of Army
of the Republic, designated May 30, as a day for decorating with flowers the
graves of men who had fallen in the Civil War. Since World War I the date has
been used to commemorate the dead of all wars.
Many of our churches are familiar with the impact of the Memorial Day weekend.
Attendance will be down until church starts; offerings will suffer as the heat
index rises. In some areas of our country, churches alter their summer Sunday
schedules because of the vacation habits of their members that begin on
Memorial Day.
If your family is planning to celebrate the Memorial Day weekend in some way, I
want to suggest an activity that will enrich your sense of family. Some time
during the weekend, recount the members of your family who have died in our
country s wars. Tell their story again to younger family members being grateful
for their sacrifice. If their grave is near by, a flag and flowers could be
taken as a memorial.
I don t know whether or not my great-great-uncle, William Atkinson, thought the
South's cause was a just one, and my great-uncle Clyde Meece may or may not
have thought boys from the United States should be trying to liberate France,
but they did what their country asked of them and they set in motion a
patriotic tradition for all of us who have followed. For this Janell and I are
grateful. We have a goodly heritage.
This weekend I will be celebrating the first anniversary of the birth of the
newest of the Atkinson clan. At some point in the weekend we will pause and
remember our family members who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Memorial Day - It is a time of remembering - remembering those who have died in
our country's wars. Use some portion of the weekend to pay tribute to family
members who have died in the service of their country.
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