“The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purposes of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in the defense of their country…”
This was the beginning of General Order Number 11 issued by Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, on May 5, 1868, which is recognized as the first Memorial Day. On May 25, 2026, citizens, including those in Gloucester, again will come together to pay tribute to those who have fallen.
It will be a somber time, a time to grieve, and a time to remember. Unlike Veterans Day, when we honor those living men and women who have served in the military, on Memorial Day we honor those men and woman in the military who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of their country in all wars and in all countries. These are the men and women who will never come home to hold their loved ones in the arms or to again see their sons and daughters or marvel how they grew while they were away answering the call of duty or to see one last time their beloved city of Gloucester. This is what we must remember of this day.
As we honor those who have fallen, we must always remember why they fell. We must remember the freedoms that those men and women sacrificed so much for. This should also be a day for reflection and remembrance.
This is a day to honor all our men and women who perished in defense of our country throughout these centuries. From those who fell during the Civil War through the present conflagrations in the Gulf of Hormuz. They deserve no less.
But not only do we need to honor those approximately 185 souls from Gloucester who paid the ultimate price and perished on foreign soils in the name of freedom, we must also remember and honor those thousands of other veterans from Gloucester who answered the call, donned a uniform, swore an oath to defend this country against totalitarianism and tyranny and served their nation. And when it was over, they returned to their families and loved ones, but they were forever changed. The phrase “some gave all and all gave some” is etched deeply into the hearts of all who have served.
As we look forward to celebrating the 250th anniversary of this great nation we must never forget the blood and sacrifices, we must never forget the blood and sacrifices endured by our veterans through those years that enable us to enjoy these freedoms.
A celebration of the history of this city must include remembrance of this sacrifice and suffering that our veterans endured, for us. I ask all of you to take time to share in that legacy and honor those who served. Some gave their lives, most gave years. Are a few minutes of your time too much to remember and reflect? Gaze upon the names of those veterans from the Civil War and Spanish American War that are engraved on the memorial plaques located in City Hall and say “Thank you.” Stand in Legion Square and view the Joan of Arc statute given by the grateful country of France honoring the sons of Gloucester who gave their lives during World War II.
Stroll down Stacey Boulevard and stop at Kent Circle and gaze down at the circle of etched bricks which surround the World War II monument and read the names of veterans from that horrible war and silently vow that they will always be remembered, and say a prayer for fellow veteran Michael Linquata, whose vision and efforts brought this inspiration to life.
Then journey to the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial at the corner of Western and Hough avenues, silently overlooking the Gloucester Harbor, and gently trace the names of the 11 young men engraved on that monument who made the ultimate sacrifice for our city and our country and swear that they, and hundreds of their fellow Vietnam Veterans who continue to pay a terrible price for that often hated war and have never really healed, that they will never be forgotten. will spend a moment remembering my fellow helicopter pilot classmates who traveled with me to Vietnam and never returned; Warrant Officers 1st Class Kevin Frye, James Meade, Gail Butcher, and Richard Warden. Their names area inscribed on the black granite walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
That’s how you honor this city’s veterans. Give them the respect and time that they so rightly earned. Always remember that this great city still stands here due to the lives and blood that was shed in defense of the Constitution and our freedoms.
Lastly, I wonder how these veterans who fought and died to protect this nation from foreign terrorism, would view a country that is now under siege from domestic terrorism. What would run through their minds knowing that they embarked on a journey of war to protect the lives of their families and loved ones only to discover that the children that they left behind are being senselessly and repeatedly gunned down and massacred by madmen and domestic terrorists whose only goal is to kill as many as they can, regardless of the consequences. Where children are seized from their parents.
Is this how we honor those veterans to answered the call to defend this country by allowing their children to be ruthlessly murdered? Where mass shootings occur almost every day and where venom and hatred spew forth from too many mouths? Where average citizens are struck down or murdered because of their faith? Where rage and retribution seem to be sweeping across this country?
Richard Harris sang in his powerful spoken-word poem, “There are too many saviors on my cross, lending their blood to flood out my ballot box with needs of their own. Who put you there? Who told you that that was your place.”
Enough. It must stop. It has to stop. This is not the time for blame, recrimination nor finger pointing. That time has passed. The men and women who donned uniforms and defended their country checked their political affiliation at the door of war. They were not liberals nor conservatives, they were Patriots! We are at war again, within and without. We must now all come together as patriots. We must ALL come together. We must shed all labels except that as citizens of the United States. Our goal cannot be to accuse, to vent or retaliate. Our only mission must be a solution to stop the carnage. To create a sphere of security where our children are not fearful of leaving their homes, homes, schools or places of religious worship, and where the parents no longer have to worry that their daily goodbyes to their children will be their last. We must stop this hemorrhaging and terror and we must end it now, together, as a unified nation and not as divisive and splinter groups.
Failure is not an option. To fail is to dishonor our veterans and what they stand for. How do we as a nation explain to our fallen that they died in vain? That while you sought to protect us against foreign dictators and terrorism we allowed your children to be gunned down, with no mercy, at home or in their schools. Is this what we want? Can our nation survive?
This is the time to unify, not dissolve. This is the time for discourse, not rancor. Finally, this is the time for answers and solutions, not further death and destruction.
We owe it to our children and to all our citizens. We owe it to our veterans.
Vietnam veteran Mark L. Nestor is the past commander of Capt. Lester S. Wass American Legion Post No. 3 in Gloucester.