Melrose Adapts Memorial Day Observances To Honor Veterans' Wishes
This year for Memorial Day, instead of a parade, Melrose will be hosting more muted observances to pay homage to service members who have died.
Veterans' Graves at Wyoming Cemetery
Roseann Trionfi-Mazzuchelli, Director of Veterans’ Services for the City of Melrose, explained that after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the Memorial Day parade in 2020, 2021, and 2022, many veterans and families reflected that the parade no longer felt like an appropriate observance of what is meant to be a solemn holiday honoring the dead. These veterans and military families, Trionfi-Mazzuchelli shared, prefer instead to recognize their fallen comrades, family members, and friends in ceremonies at the city's memorials and the veterans' graves in Wyoming Cemetery.
While other national holidays, such as July 4th, Flag Day, or even Veterans Day, might have a more celebratory feel, Memorial Day is specifically dedicated to honoring the memory of those who died in service. It was originally called Decoration Day, referring to the tradition of decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags. The first Decoration Day was observed in 1868, in honor of those who were killed in the Civil War. The date - May 30th - was chosen with the idea that flowers would be in bloom throughout the country by then.
The Gold Star Families Memorial on the Knoll
One of the ceremonies on Memorial Day weekend this year will be the dedication of the new Gold Star Families Memorial, which was inspired by a similar memorial that Colonel Robert Driscoll, the Chair of the Melrose Veterans’ Advisory Board, saw in Maine. While Melrose has several memorials dedicated to service members, this will be the first memorial in our city dedicated to the families of service members.
The term “Gold Star family” originated from service flags that families first started flying during World War I, where a blue star represented a family member serving in the armed forces during a time of war or hostilities, and a gold star represented a family member who had been killed in action.
Today, the Gold Star honors service members who died as a result of their active service, whether in war or peacetime, and includes those who died during training exercises, those who died from illness resulting from their service (such as Vietnam veterans who suffered from cancer after exposure to Agent Orange), and those who died as a result of mental illness and PTSD. This broader definition of Gold Star honors families who lost loved ones in the service of our country, without discriminating as to how their lives were lost.
The Memorial Knoll
Although the Memorial Day observances in Melrose this year will not include a parade, residents of all ages will participate in the planned events. The weekend's observances will begin on Friday, May 24th with a breakfast and assembly at the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School open to all veterans and their families. On Saturday morning, Melrose scouts and other volunteers will decorate the graves of veterans who are interred at Wyoming Cemetery before conducting a flag retirement ceremony. Finally, on Sunday morning, dedication ceremonies will be held at the Knoll for new Vietnam Veterans bricks and the new Gold Star Families Memorial, before the VFW hosts a collation for veterans. The Veterans Advisory Board welcomes volunteers of all ages at these events, with the hope that, as a community, we can honor our veterans in a way that feels right to them.
In addition, everyone is encouraged to donate to the food drive on Saturday, May 11th, 8am-4pm, in front of Shaw’s. The food drive will benefit the monthly veterans food bank as well as other local food banks.
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