Speech: "Department of the Chesapeake Commanders Address Memorial Day, 30 May, Arlington National Cemetery"

Department of the Chesapeake Commanders Address Memorial Day, 30 May, Arlington National Cemetery

On Memorial Day May 30th 1884, Oliver Wendell Holmes began a speech to the John Sedgewick Post #4 Grand Army of the Republic by saying the following:

"Not long ago I heard a young man ask why people still kept up Memorial Day, and it set me thinking of the answer. Not the answer that you and I should give to each other-not the expression of those feelings that, so long as you live, will make this day sacred to memories of love and grief and heroic youth--but an answer which should command the assent of those who do not share our memories, and in which we of the North and our brethren of the South could join in perfect accord."

Today, I as Judge Holmes did one hundred and twenty-nine years ago, find myself speaking to the proverbial choir.  Those of us gathered together in this most sacred place need not be reminded of why we continue to honor the memory of the sacrifice made by the heroic men buried all around us.  For us Memorial Day is rife with meaning and rich in the traditions of our long association with this hallowed anniversary.

However, many of our fellow citizens find themselves indifferent to the occasion, bereft of our enthusiasm and commitment. Beguiled by commercialism and self interest, striped of the traditions, which have united us for more than  one hundred and forty-five years, much of the American population has lost touch with the reason for this observance.  In his speech in 1884 Judge Holmes commented that "To fight out a war, you must believe something and want something with all your might . . . that you must be willing to commit yourself to a course . . . without being able to forsee exactly where you will come out."   In General Order #11 John Logan put himself at the forefront of the fight.  He set out to ensure that the memory of the men, who proved themselves through heroism and devotion to country, would never be lost.  Logan himself tells us our duty when he says we are to preserving and strengthen the fraternal feelings which bind us to the men, we are to assure that our progeny cherish the memory of the dead, and we are to "let no vandalism of avarice, no ravages of time testify to the present or coming generations that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of our free and undivided republic."

So here we are, a band of brothers and sisters bound to honor the men who lie buried on these gently sloping hills or in far flung graves both named and unnamed.  We will continue to embrace them all in the loving remembrance that is due to them and we shall remain true to the that portion of General Order 11, which says cherish the memory of the dead.  However, we will not have fully met the objective of that order unless we take up the fight to battle against he vandalism of avarice.  Oliver Holmes told the men of the GAR you must commit to a course of action for which you cannot foresee the outcome.  Victory can only be won by those who preserver in the face of daunting odds.  Today we are the vanguard of an army consisting of our brothers and sisters in the Allied Orders, and the victory is ours to win or lose  Therefore we must be the voice of these our honored dead and we must teach our fellow citizens to honor the traditions so important to our ancestors.  So to must we reach out to our children and inculcate them in the rituals and tributes required to honor and remember the past.  Yes it is our task and we must not fail in this our duty to keep the tradition and meaning of Memorial Day alive.

I thank you for listening and I thank you for your passion in the cause of remembering our soldiers of every war.

May God grant you his grace as you travel from this hallowed place and may God grant us the strength to keep faith with these heroic men, gone from sight, but yet with us as long as we live up to the sacred trust we have been given.

 

 

Written by Mark R. Day. Copyright by Mark R. Day, 5/23/13, all rights reserved

"This speech was given at the Old Amphitheater, Arlington National Cemetery, on 30 May 2013 as part of the traditional Memorial Day Ceremony's held by the Lincoln-Cushing Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War." 

 

Speech: Given on Memorial Day 2013 at the Tomb of General John A. Logan founder of Memorial Day

Logan graveside ceremony 2013

Brothers of the SUVCW and Guest

     We are gathered at the graveside of General John A. "Black Jack" Logan to pay our respects and give thanks for his service to our nation in its time of greatest need. General Logan was a man of great passions, foremost of which was his love for our Constitution and Republic. General Logan believed in the fight to preserve the Union and he defended it with every ounce of strength he could provide. An example of this passion, for the republic and our Constitutional system can be found in an 1863 speech, given at Duquoin, Illinois, which was aimed at convincing citizens of the western states and territories to quote " Quit your quarreling. Be for your Government in spite of what anybody may say . . . be for the Union right or wrong." Tell people you are for the success of the United States army and navy, no matter who is President -- no matter what men are in the Cabinet, or who are in the majority in Congress . . . say you are for the Union.

     General Logan was also fiercely loyal to the soldiers the soldiers who fought for the Union and the Veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. We all know of his order number eleven on May 5th 1868 to the posts of the GAR, which set the precedent for Memorial Day. In that order General Logan told us to never allow avarice to diminish our commitment to tell the story men who preserved the Union that he so deeply cherished.

     To ensure that our history be taught to all Americans and that the story remained unblemished and faithful to the truth. To ensure this General Logan took up the call to provide education to our youth. Logan stated that nations are counted great and remembered chiefly for two things-- wisdom and power: the former the property of the few; the latter the property of the many, though wielded by the few. Only by creating a system of public school who provide the emphasis necessary to empower our children to lead the nation.

     Clearly, General Logan had a long range outlook and the passion to see his beliefs fulfilled. He once said "I have entered the field to die, if need be, for this government, and never return to peaceful pursuits until this war of preservation has become a fact established. " I believe that this quote could be used to describe not only the physical Civil war fighting but also the General Logan's fight to ensure the memory of the soldiers and the fight to educate our youth.

May we be as faithful to the cause as he was.

Thank you for allowing me this time to speak about General Logan. May God Grant his peace to the soul of General Logan and may God grant us the courage and dedication to carry on with his missions in our time.

Poem: "Eternal Love"

Wedding bells rang in a harmonious consonance. 

The sun shone bright in a deep blue sky

Sunlight sang as it passed through glass and space

A shimmering gown the symbol of purity and grace.

What beauty, what grandeur,  all  senses inflamed

Unsurpassed happiness, rapturous moment, content and serene

Love has found victory in spite of all odds.

 

Written by Mark R. Day 5/22/13.  Copyright by Mark R. Day 5/22/13, all rights reserved

 

 

Poem: Rock and Water

Photo by Peyton Bond.  Copyright by Peyton Bond 5/20/13 all rights reserved

 

Grey rivulets wash and smooth the surface of the stone. The undulating water speeding quickly and then slowing its pace creates ripples of white, which splash to and fro.

So Serene and peaceful that the human eye and heart are made one with the rhythm of the cascade.

 

The beauty of nature immerses the soul and sooths the drum beat of a hectic world, allowing for the moment a memory of the primeval origins of life, the respite from reality so longed for by us all.

 

Poem written by Mark R. Day 5/20/13.  Copyright by Mark R. Day 5/20/13 all rights reserved

Speech "On My Election to the Post of Commander of the Department of the Chesapeake"

4 May 2013

Brothers of the Department of the Chesapeake, friends, and guest.

I am both overwhelmed and honored that you have chosen to elect me to the post of Department Commander.    My journey to this moment began many years ago when; I applied to join the Department of Maryland’s Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Camp in Roanoke, Va.  However it was my transfer to the forming Taylor-Wilson Camp in Lynchburg that really sparked my interest and involvement in the Sons of Union Veterans.

At my first meeting with the Taylor-Wilson Camp, I meet the man who has been an inspiration, friend, mentor, and father figure to me, Dr. Clifton Potter.  Clif had a passion for the SUVCW and he instiled that passion within me.  Unable to go to the Department Encampment, Clif offered me the opportunity to attend as the Taylor-Wilson delegate.  I was unsure and had no idea of what a delegate to the encampment was supposed to do, wet behind the ears, but it was at this encampment that, I first meet Mike Paquette; Gene Mortorff, Keith Young, Andy Johnson and many other amazing brothers who greeted me befriended me, counseled me, and educated me in the order

My head spun in the rush of events that unfolded and at the end of the encampment, I found myself a delegate to the National Encampment in Harrisburg, PA.  To say the least things were happening quickly, but my father always said that the best way to learn a thing was to just jump in, so that is what I decided to do.  I was in Harrisburg that Steve Hammond took me under tow and saw that I learned the ropes of the national encampment, successfully found the Saturday banquet, and gave me one of the most interesting rides of my life through the streets of Harrisburg. 

In the years following that first encampment, I just tried to be true to the examples of personal conduct inculcated in our SUVCW motto: Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty. For these had been the characteristics shown to me by each of the brothers who mentored and befriended me.

So, now I stand here before the delegates of my eighth department encampment, elected to the post of Department Commander.  I am humbled by the confidence that you have shown in my ability to move our department forward in the next year and I am ready to serve both you and your camps in anyway and at any time.  I look forward to sharing in your ceremonies and meetings, I look forward to meeting those of you I have not had the opportunity to meet before, and I look forward to working with you to ensure a successful and a bright future for the Department of the Chesapeake.

Brothers if we are faithful to the words fraternity, charity, and loyalty, we will always be true to our purpose to honor the memory of our ancestors and to preserve the history of our great nation. 

May god grant you safe travel as you leave this place, May God grant us the spirit to preserver in our cause, and May God grant his grace and peace to our homeland the United States of America.