Showing posts with label Memorial Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memorial Day. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Greenwood Cemetery Memorial Day 2016

I've been unable to find anything in local media noting the Memorial Day ceremony at Greenwood Cemetery yesterday, so I thought it worthwhile to make note of it here.

Each year the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter No. 30, host the ceremony on traditional Memorial Day: May 30.  Most years this is not actually on that three-day-weekend Monday, but this year as it happens, May 30 fell on Monday.  Steve and I were a little worried that attendance would be down because the Hillcrest ceremony was at 9:00, the Keithville cemetery ceremony at noon, then the American Legion ceremony at 2:00.  The ceremony at the Greenwood Cemetery was at 1:00 so attending them all would take a superhuman feat of accomplishment.

Happily, attendance was about on par with past years though perhaps a little low - certainly understandable with so much going on this year.

A new addition to the organization line-up this year was the United Daughters of the Confederacy.



As in past years, the Parkway High School JROTC did a lovely job first posting the colors, then the National Anthem which was played on the violin.

The JROTC also did a flag folding demonstration, noting the relevance of each fold of the flag...



... and the cadets escorted various organizations to the flagpole for wreath laying.



Guest speaker this year was Jim Adams of the Northwest Louisiana War Veterans Home. He spoke of the importance of remembering the fallen, noting that it's certainly okay to watch a ballgame and light the grill on Memorial Day, but to take a moment and remember the sacrifices of those who made it possible.



The placing of the wreaths came next: The United Daughters of the Confederacy ...



...and other organizations made the procession.


Each group was escorted by the Parkway JROTC:


Also in attendance, as in past years, were the Sons of the Confederacy with their three-shot rifle volley that is always impressive!


This is truly one of my favorite Memorial Day services each year and I wish it was better attended.



Greenwood Cemetery is full of incredible history and is a fascinating place to visit.  It is beautifully maintained and well kept.  You may recall the Kelley brothers are buried there that I've written so often about, but there are so many other stories as well.

Memorial Day was a quiet one for us; after the service we went home, ate some watermelon and called it a day!  Still recovering from our trip, we didn't have much energy for anything else yesterday.

At any rate, local media may have been there, but I didn't see anything posted about the event and wanted to be sure the ceremony was noted. It is one that we never miss.

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation

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Monday, May 30, 2016

Home Again

I've been on vacation for the past week and thus the longer-than-usual dry spell between posts.  We spent a lovely week in Iowa visiting family and rushed back sooner than we may have liked in order to participate in several Memorial Day events today.  If you read this in time, be sure to get over to the Greenwood Cemetery at Centenary and Stoner for their annual Memorial Day ceremony at 1:00.

I'll share some vacation photos later -- I attended my first livestock auction, which was pretty neat, and we ate everything on our Iowa Food Bucket List like Maid Rite sandwiches and breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches, among other things.  It was heavenly.

I love being in the Midwest for those patriotic holidays - Memorial Day or Independence Day.  It's truly the heart of America.

Take a moment today to remember the fallen.

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Saturday, May 30, 2015

Take a Trip to Two 2015 Memorial Day Ceremonies in Shreveport

We observe Memorial Day twice around here - one on the federally designated holiday and again on true Memorial Day, May 30.


The federal holiday fell on May 25 this year and we went to the ceremony at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery near Keithville.

The ceremony was very well attended with many dignitaries present; this year a new monument was unveiled to honor the sacrifice of veterans.  The Battlefield Cross monument dedicated at the ceremony was approved by Arlington National Cemetery and depicts a family member kneeling at the foot of a Battle Cross made of the boots, weapon, helmet, and dog tags of a fallen soldier.



There were speeches by dignitaries



and placing of wreathes.



The Young Marines did an excellent job.



The ceremony closed with a salute.



Today, May 30, was the Memorial Day Service at Greenwood Cemetery at the corner of Centenary and Stoner in Shreveport.  This service is sponsored by the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 30.



Greenwood Cemetery is among Shreveport's oldest and has a large veterans section.  This is where two of the Kelley brothers are buried.




The graves are always decorated.

This ceremony is dear to us and I'm always a little sad that it isn't better attended by the general public.




The veterans organizations and the veterans are there every year, though!


We see lots of old friends there.  Here is Steve and his buddy John Long:


John is with the Sons of the Confederacy:


There was a lovely rendition of the National Anthem by Parkway High School AFJROTC:



The speaker today was Lt. Bill Davis who reminded us to always remember the fallen and their sacrifice.  He spoke eloquently of Old Glory and the pride of America.

Then came the wreaths:



The Parkway AFJROTC served as escorts:



Steve placed a wreath for the 40 & 8 Voiture 137.



Our friend Ron Chatelain is always present each year to present:


The Sons of the American Revolution:



The Knights Templar of USA:



The Parkway AFJROTC held a flag folding ceremony...



...and the event closed with a gun volley by the Sons of the Confederacy:


With the playing of TAPS, it was over.

The Parkway AFJROTC always does a lovely job at this event and God bless John Andrew Prime of The Shreveport Times who is the epitome of the old school newspaperman and I mean that in the best way. With notebook in hand and whatever it takes, he is there for vets every single time.


If you missed it this year, put this on your calendar for next year.

Take time today to remember.

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
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Friday, May 30, 2014

The Disabled American Veterans Sponsor Memorial Day Services at Greenwood Cemetery and a Surprise Guest Attends

Today is officially Memorial Day and despite cloudy skies with off and on rain the traditional Memorial Day observance at Greenwood Cemetery today went off as planned.

The speaker this year was retired Air Force Major Carroll Michaud who is very active in veterans affairs.


His message today was one that is near and dear to his heart:  Memorial Day is more than a three day weekend.  It is a day to honor and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in their service to our country.  He stated that it is important to observe Memorial Day on the traditional day designated rather than the Monday before.  "The meaning of the day gets lost" in cookouts and shopping sales, he explained.



Parkway High School AFJROTC participated in the ceremony with their presentation of colors, a violinist who played the national anthem, and they served as escorts during the wreath presentations.  There was also a flag folding ceremony.


There were many organizations present today to present wreaths; the turnout was excellent given the soggy conditions.  Our good friend retired Major Ron Chatelain was there to present for the Military Order of the Purple Heart:


Steve presented for the 40 & 8:


The Sons of the Confederacy wrapped up the ceremony with a rousing gun volley...


... and then the haunting notes of Taps was played over the graves of the fallen.



Making an appearance today was also Anna Judd, the young woman who is running across America to raise awareness for veterans' issues such as PTSD and the suicide rate which she says is twenty-two per day.  Anna says she runs about 33 miles per day; she started her journey in Venice Beach, California and she plans to end in New York at the Freedom Tower before her 30th birthday at the end of July.  She thanked the veterans in attendance for their service and posed for some photos with the Sons of the Confederacy:


And she took a photo with Steve and Ron:


After the ceremony she stayed to help the DAV pick up flags:


The rain held off for the ceremony today and started to pick up a little as it was all ending.

Please take a note from Major Michaud's speech today and take time to honor the fallen today on this traditional Memorial Day.

(The Shreveport Times photo gallery of the event is here.)
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Monday, May 26, 2014

Memorial Day 2014 in Shreveport


It has been a full day of Memorial Day events for us.   It has been a glorious day!


We began the day with the noon ceremony at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Keithville where guest speaker Col. James A. Jackson spoke about his time in the service which elicited both laughter and somber moments from the crowd.  He pulled no punches on his opinion of the current state of the VA debacle; while he refrained from getting political, it was clear that his interest is with the veterans and that they get the care they deserve.  It was a message that was well received.


There was an extended round of applause for "the greatest generation" attendees which was simply awesome.  And then there was the presentation of wreaths from the veterans organizations.


Chef de Gare Shawn Bohanan presented for the 40&8 and Ed and Judy Lamb presented for Cabane 137.



After the ceremony Steve,our friend Jerry and I piled back into the Jeep and zoomed across town back to the American Legion for the Memorial Day observance by Branch 98 of the Fleet Reserve Association.  I made piles of chicken sandwiches which we destroyed on the way over to the Legion which is no small trick when you're in the back seat of a Jeep with the top down and your hair is blowing like a tornado in Kansas.



After the ceremony we all piled into the Legion lounge for cool refreshments.



The ceremony on the point was very well attended and was very moving.


Even the mayor attended!



 I wish I knew the story of every vet there.


 The wreath was cast upon the waters to the tone of solemn bells.



After it was all done Steve and I joined friends for a spontaneous cookout.  The setting was beautiful and the company was perfect.



All in all, it was a perfect Memorial Day:  solemn observances, good friends, and good memories.

Please be sure to check out my post today at DaTechGuy about Shreveport's version of Saving Private Ryan.  And if you live in the area please plan to attend the traditional Memorial Day observance Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. at Greenwood Cemetery on the corner of Centenary and Stoner.  This event is usually so sparsely attended it just breaks my heart.  I would love to see a good crowd there this year.

If you can't come, please spread the word and invite others.




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