Once a year isn’t too much time to reflect and spend time honoring the sacrifices of the men and women who have given their lives serving the country. Memorial Day services in Cook County will take place at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 27 on the courthouse lawn. Hope to see you there! File photo
On Monday, May 27 you will have a chance to join with others to pay your respects for those Cook County veterans who have passed away over the last year, as well as pay your respects for those soldiers who died on the battlefield to protect our freedoms.
A Memorial Day Service will be held Monday, May 27 at 11 a.m. on the Cook County Courthouse lawn. A luncheon will follow the service at Grandma Ray’s (formerly the America Legion and still home to Post 413) where veterans will eat free, courtesy of American Legion Auxiliary Unit #413. Children under 12 can eat for $5 and non-veterans can eat for $10.
Memorial Day—some history
The U.S. Congress officially designated the village of Waterloo, New York on May 19th, 1966 as the originator of Memorial Day in America.
Waterloo began its remembrance on May 5, 1866 after a local druggist, Henry C. Wells first mentioned the idea in 1865, which wasn’t well received.
The next spring Wells brought the subject to General John B. Murray, a Civil War hero who enthusiastically backed it, and the two of them organized veterans and a local citizens committee to decorate the graves of soldiers, hold a parade and fly the flags in town at half-mast.
In 1868 Memorial Day was moved to May 30 because other communities were using that date.
In 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance Act was signed by President Bill Clinton who asked Americans to pause and observe a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time.
The first record of a society holding a remembrance was 431 B.C., for the soldiers killed in the Peloponnesian War. According to History.com those warriors were honored with a public funeral and speech given by Greek statesman Pericles. It is thought to be the first such memorial, although it was noted that both the ancient Greeks and Romans honored their fallen soldiers in similar ceremonies for many years after.
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