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Public Memorial Day ceremonies

By Elizabeth Wood West

The public is invited to join American Legion Post 1187 at its two Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday, May 26. The first ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at Cedar Hill Cemetery (just west of I-25 on Wolfensberger Road) in Castle Rock. The second ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at St. Philip in the Field Episcopal Church (397 S. Perry Park Road in Sedalia).

For further information about these ceremonies, contact Douglas County Office of Veterans Affairs Manager David Maxwell at 303-663-6257 or e-mail dmaxwell@douglas.co.us.

The Associated Veterans of Colorado will also be holding a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 26 at 11 a.m. at Fort Logan National Cemetery, located at 4400 S. Kenyon in Denver. For information, call 303-761-0117.

Memorial Day has been observed by Americans for nearly 150 years. “Decoration Day”, as it was originally referred to, dates back to post-Civil War days.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Major General John A. Logan, head of a Union veterans’ organization called the Grand Army of the Republic, established Decoration Day as a time to honor fallen Civil War veterans by decorating their graves with fresh flowers. Logan declared that Decoration Day would be held on May 30; it is believed that the date was selected because flowers would be in bloom all across the country and therefore readily available for ceremonies.

The first large-scale Decoration Day observance was held at Arlington National Cemetery, once the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

For further information and history about Memorial Day, visit http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp.

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