Of all cities, towns and villages in the United States, Columbus and Lowndes County should recognize the meaning of Memorial Day.
Although there is some dispute, Columbus is broadly recognized as the place where what we now celebrate as Memorial Day began.
According to historian Rufus Ward, in 1866, about a year after the end of the Civil War, a group of Columbus women decorated the graves of 1,260 Confederate and 40 Union soldiers interred at Friendship Cemetery. Known in the early days as “Decoration Day,” the practice soon swept the country, although it did not become a federal holiday known as Memorial Day until 1971.
In those early years, the holiday often included parades, speeches and other patriotic ceremonies.
Today, however, such events are few — which is where men such as B.J. Jewell and Calvin Boswell step in.
Jewell, commander of VFW Post 4272, and Boswell, commander of American Legion Post 69, are in charge of a project that seeks to make sure the spirit of the holiday, which honors U.S. military personnel who have died in the service of their country, is not forgotten.
Each Memorial Day and again on Independence Day, the joint effort of the two veterans organizations place American flags on the graves of deceased soldiers, including, of course, at Friendship Cemetery.
“What a lot of people know is that Friendship Cemetery isn’t the only place we put out the flags,” Jewell said. “We put flags on the graves of soldiers everywhere we can find them in cemeteries all over the county.”
Last year, the group of about 30 volunteers placed flags on the graves of 800 fallen servicemen in the county.
“By Saturday, we’ll have put out 800 flags and have ordered another 700,” Boswell said. “In July, we’ll replace the flags that have been taken down and, always, there are new graves that need flags, too.”
Because of the sheer number of flags required, the work begins a full week ahead of the holiday.
“We’ve already started putting out flags,” Boswell said. “We’ve visited several cemeteries already and we’ll continue until the last flag is placed on the last grave on Saturday.”
Although flowers were used in the early years of the observations, Jewell believes the flags are a better way to honor fallen soldiers.
“We just buried a 95-year-old veteran this past Sunday,” Jewell said. “The highlight of his day was going out on his porch and looking at the American flag every morning. I think the flag has a special meaning to everyone who has served.”
Boswell said the presence of the flags also serves as a reminder to all citizens of the significance of the holiday.
“The meaning can get lost,” Boswell said. “That’s probably true of most holidays. For us, putting those flags out there, we hope, will cause people to take a moment and reflect on what these men and women gave for their country. Then, they can go and have their cookouts and things. That we are able to do that is because of what they did.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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