Memorial Day: A Time For Remembrance

By Steve Bigham

Each month, 30,000 United States World War II veterans die. That’s nearly 8,000 per week and 1,100 per day. Only five million remain. And soon, only a small handful of those who served to preserve freedom in the “good war” will walk the earth, as is currently the case with World War I vets.

In a driving rain last Saturday morning, a small gathering of people assembled on a plot of land on Main Street to remember all those who died for their country, including those from Newtown who lost their lives in war. They stood around the Soldiers & Sailors Monument to pay their respects in a Memorial Service that was highlighted by a speech given by Newtown resident Lois Barber. In it, she urged people to remember that Memorial Day is much more than the unofficial start to summer, barbecues with friends, or the day we all open up our pools.

  “Memorial Day has come to be synonymous with weekend getaways or huge three-day store sales. The true meaning of the holiday has been pushed aside and it now symbolizes the start of summer,” she stated.

 Mrs Barber told a story about the annual Memorial Day parade she used to attend in her former hometown on Long Island. She recalled one woman who complained that there were no clowns for the kids and no one was throwing candy. All she saw was a bunch of uniformed men marching.

“I explained to her that it was a Memorial Day parade and I got a blank stare. I further explained that a Memorial Day parade honors those who died fighting for our country,” Mrs Barber said.

Finally, the woman appeared to have caught on, but then added, “They still should have some clowns or something for the kids.”

  In truth, Mrs Barber said, what they had for the kids is a sense of honor and history. She remembers seeing a “gold star mother,” who had lost a son, ride by in an open convertible.

“I knew she would give anything not to be able to have such an honor bestowed on her,” Mrs Barber said.

  For Lois Barber, the Memorial Day parade always meant something.

“As the World War II vets marched past, I thought back to the parades I watched when I was a child. The WW II vets were still relatively young men, and the WW I vets were the age the WW II vets are now. A few men who fought the Spanish American War marched and my mother pointed them out to me and the crowd cheered for them, much the way I pointed out and applauded the doughboy. There was no Vietnam yet and the Korean War vets who marched were kids,” she explained.

  “Now, as I watch parades, nothing has made it as clear to me how quickly times passes as the graying hair of Vietnam veterans. I’m glad these men have made it back to our country to grow old,” she said.

  Last weekend’s event was sponsored by Newtown’s VFW Post 308 and American Legion Post 202, who lay wreaths and flowers at the foot of the various monuments on the green. First Selectman Herb Rosenthal also spoke, as did Bill Saren of the American Legion. VFW chaplain Boyd Saxton led the gathering in prayer. Newtown High School students Christina Bennett and David Strong trumpeted taps.

Mrs Barber, who has always been the patriotic type, has spent the past year or so distributing brochures for the National World War II Memorial now being built in Washington, D.C.