Old Fashioned Memorial Day Service at West Aurora Cemetery

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who defended our nation. Memorial Day evolved out of the Civil War and a desire to honor that war's dead. Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) a nationwide organization of Union veterans formed in Decatur, Illinois in 1866, established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Major General John A. Logan, the GAR National Commander, declared that Decoration Day should be observed annually on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

Today, many have forgotten that Memorial Day is rooted in the Civil War. On Sunday, May 29 at 2pm at West Aurora Cemetery (543 Wilder Street in Aurora) you will have the opportunity to experience what those ever aging Civil War veterans experienced as they remembered and honored their comrades when the Philip H. Sheridan Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) conducts an old-fashioned, period Memorial Day service based on a 1917 ritual performed by the GAR. The service will include patriotic songs and readings, the presentation of memorials on the grave of a selected Civil War veteran, an artillery salute, dedication of new headstones on the graves of two Civil War veterans buried in the Cemetery and appearances by noted Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln re-enactors Max and Donna Daniels. Street parking is available and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for their comfort.

It is only right that we in Illinois remember and celebrate the origin of Memorial Day since Illinois Civil War veterans played a significant role in its creation. The GAR was a Union Army veterans' organization founded in 1866 by Chaplain William J. Rutledge and Surgeon Benjamin F. Stephenson of the 14th Illinois Infantry. They created the organization in response to the desire of many veterans to re-experience the friendships and camaraderie they developed and shared with their comrades during the war. General John A. Logan of Jackson County, Illinois helped organize the GAR and provide much of the inspiration, leadership and guidance for the GAR in its formative years, becoming its first National Commander. It was General Logan who gave impetus and meaning to the mission of the GAR in its early days of observance of a National Memorial Day.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is a volunteer, non-profit, charitable, fraternal, patriotic and educational organization composed of members who can trace their lineage to soldiers, sailors or marines who were mustered into Federal service and served honorably in, were honorably discharged from or died in the service of the Union Army or Navy during the Civil War. The SUVCW is officially recognized as the legal successor to the GAR, receiving its Congressional Charter in 1954. Philip H. Sheridan Camp serves the western and southern Chicago suburbs. For more information on the SUVCW or the Memorial Day service, contact HArry Reinke IV at kd5tmu@gmail.com.