For
many, Memorial Day signals the beginning of summer, the kickoff of white shoe
season, the Indy 500, Oregon winery open-house weekend, and yet another federal
three-day holiday. However, it is important to reflect on the history and
significance of this day that honors the men and women in the military services
who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
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| Soldier's Monument, Lone Fir Cemetery |
Originally
known as Decoration Day, the holiday’s beginnings are a little fuzzy depending
on a Yankee or Confederate perspective. At the end of the Civil War, in May of
1868, Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, General John Logan,
officially proclaimed May 30 a day of commemoration, and flowers were placed on
the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in Arlington
National Cemetery. Southern states refused to follow the May 30 tradition and
had their own Confederate Memorial Days. By the end of World War I, the observance
was expanded to include fallen soldiers of all wars and in 1971, it became
officially known as Memorial Day and observed on the last Monday in the month
of May.
The
Portland area features a number of war and veteran memorials, many of them
tucked out of the way, others in public areas but largely ignored. The oldest
monument honoring the war dead is in Lone Fir Cemetery on 26th SE,
between Stark and Morrison. The Soldier’s Monument, near the center of the
cemetery, was dedicated in 1903 to the veterans of the Civil War, Mexican,
Spanish, and Indian Wars and is typical of that era, a bronze soldier with flag
standing on top a stone pediment. The cemetery, dating back to 1846, is final home
to over 200 Civil War veterans.
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| Lownsdale Square, Portland |
Another
pedestal-soldier style monument is located in downtown Portland in Lownsdale
Square at the intersection of SW 4th and Main. Unveiled in 1906,
Soldiers Monument is dedicated to Oregonians killed in the Spanish American
War. The tall, granite obelisk is topped by a bronze replica of an infantryman
of the Second Oregon U.S. Volunteer Infantry. At the base of the statue are two
Howitzers used at Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War. One points north; the other south.
Across
the Willamette River, in the Rose Quarter, stands the Veterans Memorial
Coliseum. This indoor arena with its unusual glass design was built in 1960 and
dedicated in 1961 to the veterans of World Wars I and II. Two black, polished
granite slabs inscribed with the names of the fallen sit at a lower level on
either side of the main entrance.
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| Korean War Memorial, Wilsonville |
Many
veterans of these two wars are interred in the Willamette National Cemetery
located east of I-205 (one of many Blue Star Memorial Highways in Oregon) on
the flanks of Mt. Scott. The largest military cemetery east of the Mississippi,
it covers over 300 acres and the beautiful, hillside setting provides panoramic
views of Portland. Several Medal of Honor recipients as well as former Senator
and Governor Mark Hatfield are buried here along with nearly 150,000 veterans
and their family members. Korean War veterans are honored with a large granite
monument listing the names of the 283 Oregonians lost in that conflict. South
of Portland, in the city of Wilsonville is another memorial honoring Korean War
vets. Located in the Town Center Park, the 94-foot long pink granite wall also
lists those servicemen killed.
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| Vietnam Memorial, Washington Park |
Probably
the most striking of all Portland’s war memorials is the Vietnam Veterans of
Oregon Memorial in Washington Park, between Hoyt Arboretum and the World
Forestry Center. Set in a verdant bowl surrounded by tall trees, the monument
was dedicated in 1987 to the more than 700 men and women who died or remain
missing in action in that conflict. A spiral path follows the contour of the
bowl and is lined with several curved granite walls representing the years
between 1959 and 1976. The names of those lost are engraved on the stone along
with information about the history of the war during that time period and news
from the home front here in Oregon. The “news” runs the gamut from the notable
to the nonsensical and provides a provocative contrast to the war and the lost
lives.
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| Vietnam Memorial, Washington Park |
While
flipping your burgers and grilling your hot dogs this Memorial Day, take just a
moment to remember that freedom is never free; or, better yet, take a bouquet
of flowers to one of these monuments
