While Memorial Day is often celebrated as the unofficial kickoff to summer, with barbeque cookouts and trips to the shore, the holiday is also a reminder of the people who gave their lives serving our country.

Celebrated each year on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day began in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War. The day of remembrance was first named “Decoration Day,” formalized by an organization of Union veterans called the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). In subsequent years, there was plenty of debate over when and where the first Memorial Day gathering occurred, but the intention has remained the same — to honor the dead.

On May 26, and throughout the entire weekend, residents will gather to honor fallen armed forces members in ceremonies across Northwest Philadelphia and Southeast Montgomery County.

Chestnut Hill

The Chestnut Hill VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 5205 is organizing its annual Memorial Day ceremony on May 26. The remembrance begins at 11 a.m. at Buckley Park, one of the country’s first memorials dedicated to Vietnam veterans. The park at 8200 Germantown Ave. is named after Charles Buckley, a Chestnut Hill native whose life was cut short in 1968, at just 19 years old.

According to Jack Leaming, a VFW Post 5205 commander, many veterans and other residents usually come to the ceremony.

“There’s typically 20 to 30 people there,” Leaming said. “I see guys I went to grade school with, people whose fathers were in the VFW, or they might have known Charlie Buckley, or other people that know nothing about us.”

After the veterans salute, fire guns, and read a brief speech, the group then goes to the WWII memorial at the Water Tower Memorial Park (the corner of Ardleigh St. and Southampton Ave.) and then the Celtic Cross WWI memorial at the intersection of E. Mermaid Lane and Germantown Ave. Following the tour of war memorials, the community is invited back to the VFW at 8127 Germantown Ave. for lunch. 

According to Leaming, this ceremony focuses on the deep significance of the holiday that may often be overlooked.

“It’s very focused on just thinking about the people that got killed,” Leaming said. “It kind of gets swept up in everything else we think about … but it’s just the time to take a couple of minutes and that’s all you’re thinking about.”

Glenside

The North Penn VFW Post 676 will host Glenside’s Memorial Day ceremony in collaboration with the Greater Glenside Patriotic Association, which also sponsors the town’s annual Independence Day parade. The ceremony will begin at 10:45 a.m. on May 26 at the VFW, located at 2519 Jenkintown Rd.

According to Tom Hermansen, commander of VFW Post 676, there will be multiple aspects to the ceremony. Families of WWII veterans will have tables set up inside to present memories, while speakers will reflect on the meaning of different flags to honor the dead, including the Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) flag. In addition to veterans in uniform, State Rep. Ben Sanchez (D) will be present.

Additionally, a memorial caisson — a military cart that bears a casket — will be on the grounds the entire weekend for people to write the names of any veterans they want to honor. The names will be read in a later ceremony. Hermansen said this style of event is modeled after larger ones in Washington, D.C.

“It should be a very moving ceremony,” he said. “It’s certainly something different for Glenside. This ceremony has been done in Washington a couple of times, so we’re going to honor Memorial Day in a big way.”

Hermansen said this event can serve as a tool for teaching young people about the sacrifices soldiers have made.

“The men and women that gave their lives for the freedoms that we have in this country…this is a good way of honoring them,” Hermansen said. “The bigger thing to me anyway is that we need to teach [younger generations] what Memorial Day is all about.”

Norristown

The Historical Society of Montgomery Country will honor Memorial Day on May 24, 11 a.m. at Historic Montgomery Cemetery (1 Hartranft Ave.). Wreaths will be laid on the monuments of General John Frederick Hartranft and General Winfield Scott Hancock, as well as at the Memorial Rose Garden and the GAR Zook Post #11 Plot. Baker Fisher Camp #101, made up of descendants of Union veterans of the Civil War, will provide volley fire at each site. 

Local Boy Scout troops and local Masonic lodge members will also be present to help with the program. Many of the participants will be dressed in period costumes. Even younger visitors will be invited to participate in the activities and gather clues around the graves, revealing why celebrating Memorial Day is so important.

East Falls

Laurel Hill Cemetery is the site of Philadelphia’s first Memorial Day observance in 1868. The organization’s annual ceremony includes wreath-layings, speakers, music, and honor guards. This year, it will occur on May 25 at 12 p.m., starting at the East Gatehouse entrance at 3822 Ridge Ave.

During the ceremony, Laurel Hill will give new gravestones to three previously unmarked graves of veterans. These veterans are Capt. Thomas Jefferson Maloney of Co. K, 108th U.S.C.T.; Lt. Francis Reeves Faust of Co. G, 119th P.V. (Pennsylvania Volunteers); and Lt. William E. Hacker of Co. A, 3rd Maryland Volunteers, KIA Battle of Antietam.

President and CEO of Laurel Hill, Nancy Goldenberg, said this ceremony reflects Laurel Hill’s mission to honor all military personnel who have died.

“Since the origin of Memorial Day in Philadelphia after the Civil War, Laurel Hill has proudly paid tribute to the thousands of women and men buried in our cemetery who have lost their lives in war, whether directly engaging in battle, volunteering as nurses or surgeons, or supporting war efforts,” Goldenberg said. “We hold this commemoration as a demonstration of our respect and acknowledgement that sacrificing one’s life for the freedom of others is often hard to comprehend, and should never be taken for granted.”

More information can be found at vfw5205.org, northpennvfw676.com, hsmcpa.org, and laurelhillphl.com. Maggie Dougherty can be reached at margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com.