Fun, Education, Ceremony Part Of Three-Day Lakes Festival
Fun, Education, Ceremony Part Of Three-Day Lakes Festival
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Fun, Education, Ceremony Part Of Three-Day Lakes FestivalNumerous Memorial Day ceremonies were held over the three-day holiday weekend, but the one at the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival Sunday featured aerial acrobatics from the Hooligan Flight Team over Center Lake.
Dugan Julian, Lakes Festival coordinator, opened the ceremony with comments on the significance of the holiday.
“Memorial Day is a national holiday designated as a time of remembrance for the service members that lost their lives while in the Armed Forces,” he said.
Recent polls show that 70% of Americans don’t know or understand the meaning of the day, Julian said.
“The majority view Memorial Day in the same light as they do Armed Forces Day or Veterans Day, as days of celebration. As a result of these perceptions, phrases like ‘Happy Memorial Day’ are used. Well-meaning citizens thank veterans for their service. Stores around the country run high-energy promotional marketing, there’s discounts at warehouses and car dealerships. But the history of this day, and the intent behind it, are very incredibly somber,” Julian said.
In 1868, Civil War General John A. Logan founded Memorial Day with a proclamation. It said the 30th day of May that year was designated for the purpose of laying flowers and decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of the country.
After World War I, Memorial Day became a day of commemoration for American military personnel who died in any and all wars, he explained.
From 1868 to 1971, Memorial Day was observed on May 30 as the date didn’t mark the day of any particular conflict or battle. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, moving the observation of Memorial Day to the last Monday of May.
“Today, Americans around the world observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials by having prayer vigils and memorial services like this one. Many participate by wearing a red poppy, a symbol of remembrance inspired by the World War I poem ‘In Flanders Field,’” Julian said.
An invocation and moment of silence were followed by the presentation of colors and the national anthem. After the honor guard from the Pierceton American Legion Post presented the colors, and the national anthem finished, the Hooligan Flight Team made its first pass over the lake.
The Hooligans originated in the late 1990s. The number one goal of the Hooligan Flight Team is to honor veterans, especially World War II vets. They fly authentic WWII aircraft, and participate in a number of fly-over events, including racing and Memorial Day events.
The Hooligans made several passes over the lake, in diamond, finger and missing man formations. After the last formation, Taps were played on bag pipes and the ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute by the honor guard.
An unedited approximate 18-minute video of the ceremony is on the Times-Union website, courtesy of Clair Mathias, Lilly Lakes and Streams and Grace College.
The 11th annual Lakes Festival was a three-day event, beginning Friday with food vendors and a performance by the band The Indigos.
Saturday featured a rain barrel workshop, a parade, kayaks for kids, spikeball and food and education vendors. The night concluded with live bands and the fireworks over Center Lake presented by Zimmer Biomet.
A little rain Sunday didn’t stop the Memorial Day ceremony, vendors, awards ceremony and the Lake City Skiers.
