Council President: Remember Memorial Day

Column as submitted by Councilman Maurice "Mo" Hill:

Monday we will celebrate Memorial Day.  It is one of the two holidays during the year that we celebrate the military service of our fellow citizens.  Memorial Day dates back to 1868 when it was originally called Decoration Day when citizens placed flowers on the graves of those soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War.  In 1971 Congress declared Memorial Day as a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday of May.  It is a solemn holiday when we honor those servicemen and women who have given their lives, the last full measure of devotion in the defense of this great country and our precious freedoms and the service of those veterans who are no longer with us.  Today less than 1% of our population volunteer to serve in our military.  Contrary to popular belief most of our servicemen and women are not professional soldiers.  Throughout our nation’s history our military has been comprised mainly of dedicated citizen soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and coast guardsmen who volunteer to serve a tour of 2, 4 or 6 years of active duty and then return to their civilian lives.

       Who are these extraordinary citizen volunteers?  They are the Tuskegee Airmen who endured segregation and compiled a heroic aerial combat record flying the P-51 Mustang in the European Theater.  They are Italian Americans like Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone from Raritan, NJ who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism with the Marines on Guadalcanal which along with the Battle of Midway turned the tide of the war in the Pacific Theater.  After receiving his Medal of Honor Gunnery Sergeant Basilone was reassigned to duty stateside but requested that he return to combat with his Marines.  He was killed in the invasion of Iwo Jima, a fierce bloody battle that lives in the annals of United States Marine Corps history.  Admiral Chester Nimitz remarked that for the Marines on Iwo Jima “uncommon valor was a common virtue”.  They are movie stars like Jimmy Stewart who enlisted as an officer in the Army Air Corps flying 25 combat bombing missions over Europe.  After the war he remained in the “new” United States Air Force as a Reserve officer retiring as a Brigadier General.  They are baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams who served as a Marine Corps fighter pilot during World War II and then was recalled again to serve in the Korean War where he transitioned to jet fighters.  On his last visit to Fenway Park during the All Star Game he invited the Marine Corps Color Guard to his box where he told the young Marines that of everything he had done in his life the one thing he was most proud of was that he was a United States Marine. They are our own family members and friends who have volunteered to serve in our armed forces.  We are indeed fortunate to have citizens like these who “stand the watch” so that we are safe.  Let us honor their memories and never forget the importance or true meaning of Memorial Day.

Mo Hill