Mabel Hills on Monuments and Memorial Day

 Speech by Mabel Hills at
The Hollis Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Post 1173 Memorial Day Exercises

 Held in the Hollis, NH Upper Elementary School on May 28, 2001

Memorial Day was originally established to honor those who died in the War Between the States.  We now gather to honor the memories of those who died in all wars.  Let each of us pay tribute to those brave patriots who gave their lives in order that their country ­ the United States of America ­ would continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Memorial Day, initially known as Decoration Day, was established by the Union Veterans returning from the Civil War.  In Hollis, The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) decorated the graves of their comrades who died in defense of our country.

The History of Hollis, by Samuel Worcester describes the coming of the Soldiers’ Monument: quote “Not long after the end of the War of Rebellion, the question was brought before the people of the town for providing some suitable monument to honor the Hollis soldiers whose lives had been sacrificed in the service of the country, in the war to save the nation and also in that in which its independence was won.” (That is, the Civil War and the Revolutionary War).

The large monument in the center common was dedicated May 30, 1873.  In the morning the John Worcester Post of the Grand Army of the Republic decorated the graves of the fallen soldiers and also the meetinghouse where the dedication exercises would be held in the afternoon.  Dedication exercises included a guest speaker, prayers, Hollis Brass Band, singing by school children and patriotic songs and hymns by the Church Choir.  This dedication so inspired the citizens of the town that they voted for an appropriation of $75-$100 per year for Memorial Programs.

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post was organized in Hollis on April 1, 1875.  Locally they organized Memorial Day celebrations.  And in 1892 they leased the hall of the fire engine house, known as the GAR Hall, now the Always Ready Museum.  It was a fire engine house downstairs and the GAR Meeting Hall upstairs.

The Women’s Relief Corps (WRC) was organized in 1891.  Their stated purpose was to assist the G.A.R. in their effort to perpetuate the memory of the heroic dead and to aid widows and orphans in time of need and to promote patriotism.  Ultimately the WRC invited all the women of the community to join. This organization became major patriotic and social influence over 60 years.  Nationally the WRC is credited with bringing ‘salute to the flag’ into public schools. Locally the WRC placed a flag in each schoolroom.

These seemingly tireless women contributed much to the Memorial Day observances in Hollis.  They made wreaths and bouquets of flowers.  They cooked and served diner.  They participated in ceremonies and actually conducted the service for the Unknown Soldier.  By example and by instruction they taught children to respect the flag and the men who answered the country’s call.  Gradually the Women’s Relief Corps was replaced by other organizations and it disbanded in 1942 (during World War II).

The Anna Keyes Powers Chapter, Daughters of American Revolution, was founded in Hollis in 1906. One of their first activities was the charting of all cemeteries and the marking of Revolutionary War’s Soldiers Graves. There were 111 marked and some unmarked in the North, East, South, Pine Hill and Churchyard cemeteries.  The same five that we still have.  The DAR has continuously participated in Memorial Day activities.  Each year they have attended church in a group and participated in the service.

In 1912 the Sons of Veterans (SOV) organization was formed in Hollis.  Mr. Henry Wilson was the first commander and for many years he led the Memorial Day Parade carrying the battle worn flag that his father carried leading the Hollis troops in the Civil War.  It was ragged and torn.  The SOV members worked with their parent group (the Grand Army of the Republic) and gradually they assumed responsibility for Memorial Day celebrations until after World War II when they disbanded.   Hollis World War I veterans were memorialized by a bronze plaque on front of the Hollis Social Library.  They joined the existing Sons of Veterans in Memorial Activities.

During World War II, a large wooden sign stood in front of the library and names were added as individuals left to join the military.

On June 15, 1946 a “Welcome Home Day” celebration was held to honor all veterans returning from World War II.  Gold Star Mothers were particularly honored, that is, the 8 mothers who lost their sons in the war.  At this ceremony, following a large parade, a bronze plaque listing names of all WW II veterans from Hollis on a large rock, and, 8 maple trees with individual markers for the 8 fellows killed in service were dedicated in Memorial Park which is east of the Churchyard.

Donald C. Petry was the first Hollis man killed in WW II.  Named in his honor, the Donald C. Petry Post 389 American Legion was formed soon after the end of World War II.  Any individual who had served the country during time of war was eligible for membership. The highlight each year was Memorial Day observance with parade and band concert.  An auxiliary was formed of wives and mothers of Legion members.  And this became a very strong patriotic and social organization.

The difficulty experienced everywhere with vandalism and theft made the previous practice of having individual grave markers) impractical.  So in 1968 the town set aside a special 100 square foot area in each cemetery for the American Legion to place flagpoles and one marker honoring all veterans on Memorial Day. These poles and markers were the last major function of the American Legion before it disbanded in Hollis.

The Hollis Colonial Militia Company was formed in 1975 ­ at the time of celebrating the 200^th anniversary of our country.  The purpose of this Militia Company was to educate people about the original militia company, which fought in the Revolution.  And they participated in “Hollis Memorial Days in 1975 and 1976.  Few of these members lived in Hollis, and many of them came from surrounding areas. So it was organized a little like the Hollis Band is now with few Hollis people come from a fair sized area. They joined our parade again last year.  We were unable to schedule them this year.  But we hope we’ll get the Hollis Militia back another year.

In 1991 when the National Holiday Act changed the date of Memorial Day to create a three-day weekend it appeared to undermine the very meaning of the day.  And no doubt this contributed to the public nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.  The three-day holiday weekend was for going to the beach. 

The special plots in cemeteries with flagpoles and markers fell to disrepair.  The general population here and elsewhere showed little patriotism and little respect for the military ­ living or dead.  Returning veterans were having a very difficult time. With no adult patriotic organization to carry out Memorial Day celebrations the Selectmen and the Cemetery Commission were stressed and stretched to maintain the tradition.

They asked various organizations to assume some responsibility on a rotating basis. Parade time Monday evening seemed to fit most people’s schedule; they could get their vacationing in and then get back and have a parade and be ready to go to school the next morning. It seemed to meet wishes of the majority of the citizens. 

Between wars there is no complete record of military service.  Our book Where the Past Has Been Preserved included as complete as possible listing of those who served from Hollis to Vietnam and Korea.  We have added many more to these listings and we’ve posted our current listings in the “Always Ready Museum”.

In the late 80’s the Selectmen and Hollis Historical Society had another granite monument placed in the Memorial Park, but it had no identifying inscription for several years. The Hollis Memorial Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1173 (or the VFW) was formed in 1992.  And one of the first activities was to provide a bronze plaque for the Korea and Vietnam Monument.

The VFW has organized and assumed responsibility for Memorial Day observances.  The DAR has participated with us, like this relationship.  We have been invited to programs at the schools.  We are definitely impressed by patriotic attitudes we see in the faculty and in the students.  They are doing some excellent work now.

NOW, I would like to share some personal reflections of Memorial Day.  In Hollis, when I was growing up, there were many organizations all carrying flags on Memorial Day.  There was the Sons of Veterans and the WW I veterans together, the Women’s Relief Corps, the DAR (and they joined the Relief Corps for Memorial Day activities), the Boy Scouts, and the Girl Scouts.  Now, all these organizations all attended the Community Church Services on Memorial Sunday.

On Memorial Day, which was May 30^th, all children, especially those of us who were scouts, collected and transported as many flowers as possible to the lower town hall.  Mostly they were wild flowers (that was legal then), and as girl scouts we helped the ladies of the Women’s Relief Corps make bouquets of these flowers.

Then scouts went with the adult organizations by car to North Cemetery, Pine Hill Cemetery and either East or South lot (alternating years).  At each cemetery we had little groups with a Veteran or Sons of Veteran Member, a Girl Scout and a Boy Scout - make it a little team.  And we would go to each grave. The Girl Scout took a bouquet of flowers, the Boy Scout had a wreath, and the Veteran placed a flag in the flagpole and we added the wreath and the flowers, on signal, at each marker of each soldier’s grave. Ceremonies were repeated until all graves were decorated.  And then taps were played and we reassembled to move on to the next cemetery.

At noon we returned to the Lower Town Hall for a delicious home cooked meal by the WRC ladies.  That was in the Lower Town Hall.  Lower Town Hall at that time was one big room with no partitions.

After lunch, still in our scout uniforms, we joined our classmates at school, The Farley Building!  Everyone participated in the parade.  We lined up by classes in the schoolyard and joined the adult organizations already assembled in front of the G.A.R. Hall (now the Always Ready Museum).  Mr. Flagg, (our one-man police force) led the parade on a black horse.  Usually there were other horses involved in the parade. And frequently it was Mr. Milton Glover on his big white horse, that’s the father of Honi Glover, many of you know.

Leading the whole patriotic group was Mr. Henry Wilson, the son of a Civil War veteran, carrying the old, battle worn flag that his father had carried leading the Hollis Regiment in the Civil War.

Between parades this special flag was proudly displayed in a glass case at the entrance to the library.  Later this flag was given to the Historical Society.  It continued to hang on its pole in the corner in the Wheeler House until we took that flag down to the Textile Museum in Andover, Mass. hoping that we could get it encased in plastic.  But that would cost an unreasonable amount.  So we had it cleaned and packed to preserve it as is without further deterioration. There is a picture of this honored flag in the Wheeler House that you can see at any time. Patriotic organizations, each with flags and color guards followed the Sons Of Veterans and then the scouts and all schoolchildren, each child carrying an American flag.

We marched to the upstairs Town Hall and after formal preliminary ceremonies, including trooping of the colors with the many flags, the school presented a Memorial Day Program ­ always varied.  Each room (‘course there were 2 grades per room) had some special presentation ­ and every child was included in the program.  Usually there was one poem somewhere in the program “In Flanders Fields”.  And then the boy in the sophomore class with the highest grade point average recited the Gettysburg Address.

After this program the parade reassembled in the same order with schoolchildren riding in trucks, scouts marching, and progressed to the cemeteries South or East which ever one we had not attended in the morning and again the scouts participated with the Sons of Veterans in decorating each soldier’s grave and then taps and reassemble to move on.

Parade returned to the Churchyard, the same procedure, and then to the Common where all schoolchildren participated in service for the Unknown Soldier conducted by the Women’s Relief Corps. Each child was given flowers to put at the base of the big monument.  Locke’s Ice Cream always opened for the season on Memorial Day after the ceremonies were complete.

Then I completed “Nurses Training” in March of 1944 and I joined the Red Cross and then the Army Nurse Corps. At that time the Red Cross was doing all nurse recruitment for the military. 

In October, we landed as a “General Hospital” at Omaha Beach ­ 4 months after “D Day” invasion ­ we walked up the same muddy hill.  Still working in a tent general hospital in Normandy, I had the opportunity to attend Memorial Day Exercises in 1945 at St. Marie Eglise U.S. Cemetery #2; it was located halfway between Omaha and Utah Beaches.

It was a huge field full of rows of white wooden crosses.  Most marked with one metal “dog tag” identifying the soldier buried there.  Some crosses had no identifying tag ­ the unknown.  All branches of service were involved in the ceremonies, which ended with the services for the Unknown Soldier.  As we looked over the peaceful English Channel, this was the most impressive service I have ever attended and it reminded me of the poem we learned as children in Hollis, “In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow Beneath the Crosses Row on Row”.  We did not see poppies at Normandy, but we did feel that history was repeating.  We didn’t see poppies because as war was winding down in Europe, we were soon deployed to Marseilles as staging area to participate in move to the Pacific.  But fortunately War ended and we did not have to go to the Pacific and returned to the United States.

Earlier, I mentioned Welcome Home Day, June 15, 1946.  This was not a May 30 Decoration Day but it certainly was Memorial Day to all of us of that era.  As one of the returning veterans, it was a great honor to be a part of this impressive occasion to dedicate Memorial Park to those 8 contemporaries of mine who died in World War II, and the Rock with the Bronze Plaque listing all persons who left Hollis to enter the war.

The medal I am wearing today is that presented by the Town of Hollis, on that day, to each Returning Veteran. I’m told that there’s a couple of fellows here that never received it.  One of them anyway did not return until after that Welcome Home Day, but they still should have it.  We’ll have to talk to the Selectmen about that.

Several times I’ve been to Arlington National Cemetery and always similar feelings as Memorial Day ­ especially with the formal changing of the guard and reading the words inscribed on the Tomb of the Unknown “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known But to God”.

In 1989 we were at Gettysburg.  My feelings again were similar to my experiences Memorial Day at St. Marie Eglise seeing the many crosses of those who had died in Normandy’s Landings.

I also remembered the “Gettysburg Address” presented by a sophomore boy each year was a highlight of the Hollis Memorial Day Programs.  I would like to close with the ending of that famous address ­ it still applies today:

“It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion; that we here may highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that Government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Thank you for your attention. 

Mabel Hills