Memorial Day: A somber day
Today we honor and mourn our U.S. military who died while serving in our Armed Forces.
It was first known as Decoration Day.
"The first national observance of Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868," Wikipedia tells us. "Then known as Decoration Day and observed on May 30, the holiday was proclaimed by Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic to honor the Union soldiers who had died in the American Civil War. This national observance followed many local observances which were inaugurated between the end of the Civil War and Logan's declaration. Many cities and people have claimed to be the first to observe it. However, the National Cemetery Administration, a division of the Department of Veterans Affairs, credits Mary Ann Williams with originating the 'idea of strewing the graves of Civil War soldiers—Union and Confederate' with flowers."
My great-grandfather, Samuel Davidson Laughlin (1843-1910), a native of Linn., Mo., served as a colorbearer with the Union Army in the Civil War. A musket tore a hole in his flag, but he managed to survive three of the bloodiest battles of the War Between the States.
His grandson, George Laughlin Martin (1910-1942), of PeEll, Wash., son of his youngest daughter, Esther, was not so lucky. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 11, 1941, young George patriotically enlisted in the U. S. Navy. He was killed when the Japanese bombed his ship, the USS Destroyer Meredith (D-434) on Oct. 15, 1942. He was 22 years old. And a newlywed.
The Meredith had departed Espiritu Santo on Oct. 12, 1942 to escort a convoy to Guadacanal. Historians tell us that the convoy came under attack by 35 Japanese bombers and torpedo planes from the carrier Zuikaku. The Meredith sunk within 10 minutes. Sixty-three survivors were rescued after three days in the shark-infested waters.
A monument in Manila, The Philippines, pays tribute to the "Lost at Sea" sailors, including George Laughlin Martin.
His mother, honored throughout her life as a "Gold Star Mother," loved gardens--the spring growth, the fluttering butterflies and the buzzing bees .
He probably did, too.