Members of Bay Village American Legion Post 385 fire a gun salute in honor of the nation’s war dead at the Memorial Day observance Monday at Clague Park in Westlake. The ceremony and preceding parade were sponsored by the Westlake Kiwanis Club. (West Life photo by Kevin Kelley)

Westshore honors war dead with Memorial Day observances
By Kevin Kelley
Westshore
Published May 27, 2009

The Westlake Kiwanis Club continued a tradition more than half a century old in that city by sponsoring a parade and ceremony at the Clague Park gazebo to honor those who died in the nation’s wars.

Keynote speaker Commander Larry R. Kennedy II of the Coast Guard told the audience that Memorial Day was more than just a three-day holiday that marked the beginning of summer.

Noting that observance of Memorial Day dated to shortly after the Civil War, he read the order of Army Gen. John Logan that proclaimed the first Memorial Day in 1869.

Commander Larry R. Kennedy II

That order tells a lot about the meaning of Memorial Day, Kennedy said, and can be used as a yardstick to measure how modern-day observances go toward paying tribute to the nation’s heroes.

The order spoke of honoring the graves of the nation’s war dead and remembering them in ways their fellow veterans may deem appropriate.

Originally established to honor the fallen of the Civil War, the meaning of the holiday expanded following World War I to include all of the nation’s war dead, Kennedy noted.

The wearing of red poppies on Memorial Day also began following World War I, said Kennedy, a resident of Westlake.

“Traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years,” Kennedy said. “Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day.”

Since 2000, the U.S. has observed a moment of remembrance at 3 p.m. each Memorial Day to pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to their country, Kennedy noted.

Kennedy said that Gen. Logan would be proud of the citizens of Westlake for having remembered the meaning of the holiday for more than 50 years.

“Today is the day we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice — the over one million men and women from the Revolutionary War to the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan — who have given their lives so that we enjoy the freedoms and the way of life we are each accustomed to,” said Kennedy.

Kennedy’s daughter Kalee participated in the ceremony by placing a symbolic bouquet next to the Memorial wreath.

At Fairview Park City Hall, Gold Star Mother Loretta Seidl laid a wreath at the memorial for the community’s fallen military heroes. Seidl’s son, Robert, died during an accident while stationed in Germany at the age of 19 during the Vietnam era.

In her remarks, Mayor Eileen Patton told of showing local third-graders the war memorial display during the students’ recent tour of City Hall.

Senior Master Sgt Zorica Dejanovic

“This story must be told over and over and over again to each child that walks through the halls of City Hall so they know that they are boys from Fairview Park that lost their lives so that we can wake up as free people every single morning,” Patton said.

Patton also told the students about Harriet Beeckman, the local mother who formed the We Do Care committee that sends care packages to local military men and women serving overseas. The We Do Care committee also organized the Memorial Day ceremony.

Guest speaker at the ceremony was Senior Master Sgt Zorica Dejanovic of the Air Force Reserve. She told of her work as an aeromedical evacuation crew member and how improved medical technology has helped save the lives of military personnel injured during the war in Iraq.