Memorial Day remembers JFK, too
US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Michael
Klecheski led the ceremonies at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Fort Bonifacio to commemorate Memorial Day last May 29.
Not to be confused with Veterans Day, celebrated every 11th of November to honor those who have served or are serving in the military, Memorial Day is held every last Monday of May to pay tribute to those who have given their lives in military service.
Memorial Day started as “Decoration Day” shortly after the American Civil War with people from both the North and South decorating the graves of the soldiers who died during the war as an expression of grief and mourning. It was General John Logan who, in 1868, issued a General Order that designated May 30 as a memorial day “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
Joining Klecheski in offering flowers to the fallen heroes were Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral
Narciso Vingson and Brig. Gen. John Jansen, deputy commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and commander of the US Joint Task Force during the recent 2017 Balikatan Exercises.
The 2017 Memorial Day also happened to be the 100th birth anniversary of John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the US. Former US Ambassador to Japan Caroline
Kennedy, JFK’s only living child, put together a four-and-ahalf minute video message to honor the legacy of her father. Together with her children — Tatiana, Rose and Jack Kennedy Schlossberg — Caroline shared memories about the late president and the timeless values and ideals that he stood for, exhorting people to “work and fight and believe in a better world, to give something back to this country that has given so much to so many,” Kennedy said in her video tribute.