True Meaning of Memorial Day Taught to Next Generation
By: Bob Clausen, KARK 4 News
Updated: May 28, 2011
Memorial Day was first observed on May 30, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of union and confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
A tradition there continues to this day. It's called "Flags In." The 3rd Infantry does the honor. It's simple, poetic and honorable: a flag is placed at every grave.
A similar tradition plays out here at Little Rock's National Cemetery, designated as such the same year Memorial Day began. Students from Horace Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School under the watchful eye of Wendell Redmond. The retired Horace Mann teacher each year helps teach the lesson of Memorial Day.
He helps make Little Rock National Cemetery's sacred 31 and a half acres more than a place students see out the window of a passing car.
"We would not be here if they had not served our country," he says.
It's a lesson the students take to heart.
"It makes me really sad," says student Mellissa Vachon. "But then again, if they did not I would not, I would not be here today with all the rights I have."
While the cemetery and others like it are quiet, they are not meant to be sad. An old saying fits among the garden of stone: "Say not in grief, 'he is no more,' but live in thankfulness that he was."
"It feels good to be here just memorize people who served our country," says 7th Grader Celeste Garcia.
The annual ritual puts young Arkansans among the tangible cost of war and freedom, and the meaning of Memorial Day.
A master sergeant during the Vietnam War, Redmond not only visits to teach students, but visit old friends and translate what they gave into what we have.
He says, "To realize that all the good things that we have today in this country is due in a large part to the people who are laid to rest here."
There are 21,000 graves in Little Rock National Cemetery. It is open from dawn to dusk.
A tradition there continues to this day. It's called "Flags In." The 3rd Infantry does the honor. It's simple, poetic and honorable: a flag is placed at every grave.
A similar tradition plays out here at Little Rock's National Cemetery, designated as such the same year Memorial Day began. Students from Horace Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School under the watchful eye of Wendell Redmond. The retired Horace Mann teacher each year helps teach the lesson of Memorial Day.
He helps make Little Rock National Cemetery's sacred 31 and a half acres more than a place students see out the window of a passing car.
"We would not be here if they had not served our country," he says.
It's a lesson the students take to heart.
"It makes me really sad," says student Mellissa Vachon. "But then again, if they did not I would not, I would not be here today with all the rights I have."
While the cemetery and others like it are quiet, they are not meant to be sad. An old saying fits among the garden of stone: "Say not in grief, 'he is no more,' but live in thankfulness that he was."
"It feels good to be here just memorize people who served our country," says 7th Grader Celeste Garcia.
The annual ritual puts young Arkansans among the tangible cost of war and freedom, and the meaning of Memorial Day.
A master sergeant during the Vietnam War, Redmond not only visits to teach students, but visit old friends and translate what they gave into what we have.
He says, "To realize that all the good things that we have today in this country is due in a large part to the people who are laid to rest here."
There are 21,000 graves in Little Rock National Cemetery. It is open from dawn to dusk.
