Paying their respects -- Community marks Memorial Day

Pat Donahue, Thomasville Times-Enterprise, Ga.
·2 min read

May 30—THOMASVILLE — For the first time in three years, there were guests and attendees under the tents provided by Allen and Allen at Sunset Memorial Gardens for Memorial Day.

The community observance was held Monday, with many paying tribute to those who had been killed in service to the country.

"Memorial Day isn't about a long weekend road trip, a backyard barbecue or a sale," said Greg Thweatt, commander of Veterans for Foreign Wars Post 4995. "The real meaning of the national holiday is much more somber."

Memorial Day and Veterans Day both honor the sacrifices made by veterans but serve different purposes, Thweatt said. Memorial Day honors all those who have died in service to the country.

Memorial Day originally was known as Decoration Day. It was declared a national holiday in 1971 and its roots date back to the years just after the Civil War.

At Arlington, Virginia, orphaned children of Union and Confederate soldiers and sailors placed flowers atop the graves of both Union and Confederate dead.

John Logan, who served as an officer in the Mexican War, believed Memorial Day should occur when flowers are in full bloom across the country, Thweatt said.

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, as the birthplace of Memorial Day.

Forty-nine Thomas County residents were killed in World War II, five were killed in the Korean War, 30 were killed in Vietnam and two were killed fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"May we never fail to remember the ultimate cost of the freedom which we enjoy," VFW Post 4995 chaplain Johnnie Clark said in his opening prayer.

Thomasville High School Air Force JROTC cadets placed flags on the graves of veterans interred at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Veterans were just as gladdened to have a ceremony with the public an attendance again.

"It feels great," Thweatt said. "It warms the heart to see that there are as many patriots still here in Thomas County. I'd like to see more, but what we had today was great. It warms all our veterans' hearts to see this happen, for them to come out to pay tribute to those who have given their lives so that we can enjoy our lives."