Memorial Day is an event that recognizes service and sacrifice. At the culmination of the annual Memorial Day parade, Mayor Kahn read a proclamation declaring Memorial Day a day of reflection, remembrance, and honor for the brave men and women who have given their lives in service to our country. Memorial Day is a time to honor and mourn the military personnel who have died in their service to our nation. Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, The Vietnam War, The Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is fitting and proper to set aside a day for the remembrance of these fallen heroes and to express our gratitude for their selfless commitment to the ideals of freedom and democracy. We acknowledge the families and loved ones of the fallen, whose lives have also been forever changed by the loss of these courageous individuals. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the memory of these heroes remains vibrant and that future generations understand the profound debt we owe to those who have served and sacrificed.
The Mayor also read In Flanders Field by Lt. Colonel John McCrae in 1915 after the 2nd battle of Ypres in France.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
