Boy Scouts honor meaning of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is looked forward to for many. To school children it means the end of school and summer vacation, to many adults it also means vacation away from work. Commercials and businesses hail the start of summer with sales and with lots of red, white and blue mixed in as if somehow buying their products makes you more patriotic.

But the celebration is much more than beer and barbecue. It is a day for the country to set aside to remember those who came before us and made America the country whose freedoms we enjoy today, grateful to those no longer here.

It was said first by Nathan Hale, one of the American Revolution’s first heroes. “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Memorial Day is the one holiday where honoring those that have died and have aided their country in service, not just a day off from school or work

Decoration Day was held at the end of May, started around the end of the Civil War. First the day was adopted in the South, then the North. It became known as “Memorial Day” at the end of WWII and in 1968 it was moved to the last Monday in May, for a three-day holiday.

Wimberley does not forget those who have served their country. Each Memorial Day flags are placed on veterans’ graves to honor those who have served. Then Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Boy Scout Troop 127 and Cub Pack 127, placed flags on the cemeteries in town. This was a good day for learning and teaching history for the scouts and adult Scoutmasters which happens each year.

“I learned to appreciate what the veterans have done for us. Their life and service to our country won’t be forgotten,” Liliana Osborn, one of two girls to join the local Boy Scout troop this year. Margot Price is the other girl in Troop 127.

There are dozens of veterans buried in the Wimberley Cemetery. This includes many who were historically important to Wimberley’s history like Chester Franklin, who the VFW Rodeo Arena is named after and many of the Wimberleys. In a small town full of generations of legacy, many of the scouts had the opportunity to honor their own family members.

“In placing flags on the graves, it made me feel good about my family, being proud to serve this country,” new Boy Scout Billy Brown said.

“He was able to place flags on his Great Grandfather’s and great Uncle’s graves. In WWII his great grandfather served and was at Pearl Harbor,” former Cub Scout Leader Travis Brown said.

But in order to put it into perspective, newer graves also have great significance. “We have to bring them (the scouts) to the current times to relate, newer ones such as Desert Storms, Iraq and Afghanistan. It helps the troop to understand this is still current,” Troop 127 Assistant Scoutmaster Dave Osborn said.

Memorial Day and its significance is one holiday that it not forgotten in Wimberley.