The observance of Memorial Day has not remained true to its original intent and purpose, according to Spec. Joshua O’Donnell, a veteran of U.S. military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. O’Donnell, a member of the 3175th Military Police Company, was the featured speaker Monday during Warrenton’s annual Memorial Day observance which was held at the National Guard Armory. “Memorial Day is the day when we remember those who willingly laid down their lives for love of country and freedom,” O’Donnell asserted. “While Memorial Day in the United States often induces thoughts of the beginning of summer, barbecues and a long holiday weekend, it is not celebrated as intended,” O’Donnell continued. He noted that the holiday, which originally was known as “Decoration Day,” is a day of “remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. “Traditional observance of Memorial Day has sadly diminished over the years,” O’Donnell said, adding that there are some “notable” exceptions: Since the late 1950s, 1,200 members of the U.S. 3rd Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery and patrol continuously through the weekend to ensure all flags remain standing. In 1951, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts in St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an “annual good turn.” The practice continues today, O’Donnell said. Beginning in 1998, on the Saturday immediately preceding Memorial Day, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts place candles at each of the approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye’s Heights. “What may be needed to return to the solemn — and even sacred — spirit ... is for a return to its traditional day of observance,” O’Donnell stated. He explained that the “Battlefield Cross” or “Battle Cross” serves as a symbolic replacement of a cross on a battlefield or at a base camp of a soldier or Marine who has been killed in combat. O’Donnell said the symbol consists of a rifle with its bayonet attached which is placed facing downward into the ground with a helmet on the butt of the weapon. Sometimes, the soldier’s dog tags hang from the rifle and the fallen soldier’s boots are placed next to the rifle.“Its purpose is to show honor and respect for the fallen at the battle site,” O’Donnell said. While explaining the makeup of the symbol and its significance, O’Donnell had to pause briefly to compose himself. “Today, it is an immediate means of showing respect for the fallen among the still living members of the troops,” he continued. “It might be seen in the field or at a base camp after a battle in Afghanistan or Iraq. “Nothing stops me more dead in my tracks than when I come across this all-too-familiar, small, somber living memorial,” O’Donnell added. “The power and mix of emotions is surreal, and an overpowering duty to accomplish any mission takes over. “Someone once said, ‘Warriors are not always the fastest or strongest men,’” O’Donnell said. “Strength and speed can be developed through training. Warriors are those who choose to stand between their enemy and all that they love and hold sacred.”

Unmatched Freedoms “We’re here today to make sure that everyone knows that there have been men and women who have been willing to give their lives,” O’Donnell said. “It’s not just so they can have a day off work ... a barbecue ... a day off from school. It’s so that they will live in a country where they have liberty and freedoms that are unmatched in any other country in any other nation that the world shall ever know. “It is important that we now - more than ever - return to the roots of this most sacred celebration,” O’Donnell stated, closing his remarks by quoting Gen. George S. Patton Jr.: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died,” he said. “Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”