SLMF

4/30/2016
Period1
Ms.Craig

MemorialDayPaper

Memorial Day is on the last Mondays in May and it's the day that we honor fallen
American men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, their own lives, for their country,
families, and freedom. The name of Memorial Day was first known as Decoration Day.
(Memorial Day A&E) The originality of DecorationDay
wasfirstcelebratedatthe
Arlington
National Cemetery on May 5, 1862. General John A. Logan is a leader of an organization for
northern Civil War veterans. He called for a nationwidedayofremembrancelaterthatmonth.
Logan stated that, The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with
flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country
during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet
churchyard in the land.(Memorial Day) The date of Decoration Day was chosen because it
wasnt the anniversary of any particular battle. General Logan cared about men whoservedand
diedforwhattheybelievedinandwantedtohonorthembydoingthisdeed.
The History Channel website states that on the first Decoration Day, another General
named James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, where5,000participants
decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederatesoldiersburiedthere.ManyNorthern
states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years. By
1890 each state made DecorationDayanofficialstateholiday.ManySouthernstates
,however
,
continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War 1. Memorial Day, as
Decoration Day came to be known, at first honored only those lost while fighting
in the Civil
War. (History)
However, during World War I, the United States found itself embroiled in
another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel
whodiedinallwars.

For decades,MemorialDaywas observedonMay30,thedateLoganhadselectedforthe

first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which
established Memorial Day as a federal holiday, taking place thelastMonday inMay,inorder to
create a threeday weekend for federal employees. Thischangewentintoeffectin1971. Cities
and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating
active military personnel and members of veterans organizations. Some of the largest parades
take place in Chicago, New York, and the District of Columbia. Americans also observe
MemorialDaybyvisitingcemeteriesandmemorials.(MemorialDayA&E)
Many people throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhapsbecauseitunofficially
marks the beginningofsummer. Peoplealsoputflagsongravesoffallensoldiersandtheirloved
ones. (Memorial Day A&E) There are families in Tyngsborough that have served and died in
different wars. Some of the families were the Butterfields, Farwell, and the Burrows. (Find a
Grave)

BelowareinterviewsIwasabletoconductwithVeteranswholiveinthearea.

Interview1

ThefirstinterviewIconductedwaswithaveterannamedKen,fromthekoreanwar.Hewasa
paratrooperandheservedinkorea.Heseemeduncomfortabletoshareanythingaboutthewar
hefoughtin.Theonlythinghewouldtalkaboutwasthatalltheboysfromhisneighborhood
werejoiningthewarandeverysingleoneofthemchangedtheirbirthdatesontheirbirth
certificates.Healsotalkedaboutjumpingfromtheplanewithallhisgearandhisweapon.But
hestoppedthere.Iknewitwashardforhimtotellanymoreofhisexperiencebecausealotofhis
friendsnevermadeithome.
Interview2
IhadthepleasureofinterviewingLesterFerrell,whoisaveteranoftheVietnamWar.Hewasin
theservicefrom1975to1994,andisnowworkingasachemicaloperator.

Michael:Whatwasthewarandbranchyouservedin?

Lester:IwasservedintheVietnamWar.IwasonactivedutyintheNavyfrom1975to1994.

Michael:Couldyoutellmewhatyourrankwas?

Lester:E8SeniorChiefintheNavy.

Michael:Wereyoudraftedorenlisted?

Lester:Ivolunteeredtobeinthemilitary.

Michael:Whydidyoujoin?

Lester:Iwantedtoservemycountryandbeawarhero.

Michael:Whydidyoupicktheservicebranchyoujoined?

Lester:IjoinedtheNavybecauseIwasinspiredbyJohnKennedyandIlovedthesea.

Michael:Doyourecallanyparticularlysignificantaccomplishments.

Lester:IwasaSubmarineHunterandthesignificantpartofthejobwasrescuingpeoplelike
militaryaviators.

Michael:Didyougobacktoschool?

Lester:Yes,Idid.Iwasonactivedutyfor19yearsandduringthoseIgotanAssociates
DegreeatNationalUniversity.


Michael:Whatdidyoudoforacareerafteryourservice?

Lester:AfterIretiredfromtheNavyIdroveatruckforMayflowerandwasasteelfabricator
andnowImachemicaloperator.

Michael:Howdidyourserviceandexperiencesaffectyourlife?

Lester:ItmademeunderstandwhatbeinganAmericanis.

Michael:Didyourmilitaryexperienceinfluenceyourthinkingaboutwaroraboutthemilitaryin
general?

Lester:Yes.Warisugly,necessary,immoral.

Michael:WhatdoesMemorialDaymeantoyou?

LesterItmakesmehumbleaboutmygrandfather,myfather,andmylostshipmatesmost
importantly.

Interview3

ThesecondveteranIinterviewedisMr.Rhine,whowasintheAirForcefrom1988to1996.He
nowworksatTyngsboroughHighSchoolasaPhysicsteacher.

Michael:Whatwarandbranchofserviceyouwerein?

MrRhine:IservedinthePersianGulfWar,asanAirForceofficerfrom1983to1996.

Michael:Whatwasyourrank?

MrRhine:IwasaCaptian,abouttobeaMajorbutleft.

Michael:Wereyoudraftedordidyouenlist?

MrRhine:IenlistedintheReserveaftercollegeandtookcommissionasanOfficer.

Michael:Whydidyoujoin?

MrRhine:IwenttoaprogramJuniororSenioryear,tomeetwithveteransandactiveduty
Marines.AtfirstIwantedtotojointheMarines,butmyeyesightwastoobad.Igotascholarship
togotocollegefromtheArmy,Navy,Marines,andAirForce.IdecidedtojointheAirForce.

Michael:Whydidyoupicktheservicebranchyoujoined?

MrRhine:Medically,IwascertifiedfortheAirForcebecauseofmyeyesight.

MichaelDoyourecallanyparticularlyaccomplishingmoments?

MrRhine:IwasatHanscomAirForcebaseforfiveyearsdoingElectronicWeaponsSystems
Development.ThebiggestaccomplishmentIdidwassetupademonstrationoftheweapons
systemonaF15thefirsttimeithadbeenused.Then,IwasinJapanforthreeyearsdoing
intelligencework,andwasabletotravelthroughoutAsia.

Michael:Didyougobacktoschool?

Mr.Rhine:IwasstationedinHanscomAirForcebaseandwasincollegeduringtheservice.
Then,IgotacollegedegreeinEngineeringintheROTC.Afterthat,IworkedonmyMasters

Degree,andwassenttoJapanatYokotaAirForcebase,whereIstudiedJapaneseontheside.At
thesametime,IwenttoschoolformyMastersinBusinessAdministration.

Michael:Whatdidyoudoforacareerafterthemilitary?

MrRhine:IworkedinFinancingandAccountingonWallStreet,andnowatTyngsborough
HighSchool.

Michael:Howdidyourserviceandexperienceschangeyourlife?

MrRhine:IhavefriendsthatIstillkeepintouchwith,andsometimescommunicatewithother
veteransorservicemenonduty,andwegiverespecttooneanother.

Michael:Didyourmilitaryexperienceinfluenceyourthinkingaboutwaroraboutthemilitaryin
general?

MrRhine:Ifeelthatwe,asthemilitary,dontwanttogetinvolvedinwar,andwehavetohave
astrongmilitarytopreventwarfromhappening.

Michael:WhatdoesMemorialDaymeantoyou?

MrRhine:IhadacousinwhodiedinVietnamwhenIwasfour.Irememberhisfuneralandall
theservicemendoinga21gunsalute.Inaddition,Ithinkofallthesoldiersthatdiedduringthe
WaronTerror.

How does this alltiebackintoServiceLearning,andwhatdoesthismeantomeand

mycommunity?
Doing this project provided me a way to give some insight in the dead servicemen who
gave their lives to protect our country and itspeople,andwehonortheirsacrificedonMemorial
Day. I wanted to write about this topicbecausethepeoplewhoIinterviewedwere willingtotell
their story for the readers, to learn about theirexpierences andhavesomeinsightintotheirstory
whyandhowtheyjoinedthemilitary.Ihopethispapergivesyouagoodunderstandingonhow
MemorialDaybecameanationalholiday,andtheimportantdatethatitis.

Howdidthisaffectmeasaperson?
It impacted me as a person because it made me more determinedtogetthisprojectdone
ontime,andtowritethestoriesoftheveteranssotheycanbe

heard. Military history is one of my favorite topics, and any time a veterans will tell their story
forme,Iwillappreciateit.

WorksCited
"ArlingtonCemeteryHistoryandVeteransBurialEligibility."
HubPages
.HubPages.Web.11
May2016.
"FindAGraveMillionsofCemeteryRecords."
FindAGraveMillionsofCemeteryRecords
.
Web.11May2016.
History.comStaff."MemorialDay."
History.com
.A&ETelevisionNetworks,01Jan.2009.
Web.11May2016.
"MemorialDay2016Celebrations|AMemorialDayinHonorofFallenHeros."
MemorialDay
2016
.12Jan.2016.Web.11May2016.
"OurTown."
MemorialDayParade
.Web.11May2016.