Community Corner

Gaithersburg Honors Veterans At Memorial Day Observance

Gaithersburg officials hosted a Memorial Day observance ceremony at Christman Park to honor the city's fallen veterans.

Joined by members of Gaithersburg's City Council, the Montgomery County Council and other guests, Mayor Sidney Katz hosted a Wednesday morning Memorial Day observance.

The ceremony served to "honor those who have given their lives for this country, and to send our thoughts and prayers to the men and women currently serving in our armed forces," Katz said. It was held at Christman Park, which was named for U.S. Marine 2nd Lt. William J. Christman III, a Gaithersburg resident who was killed in the Vietnam War.

The city welcomed retired Brig. Gen. Gerald E. Galloway, a 1957 West Point graduate with a 38-year military career, to speak to local veterans about the historical significance of Memorial Day.

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Galloway spoke of the holiday originally known as "Decoration Day," meant to honor the hundreds of thousands of fallen Americans during the Civil War, culminating with official proclaimation of Memorial Day in 1868. The holiday has since expanded to honor all U.S. veterans claimed by war.

"It doesn't matter where your family came from," Galloway said. "Those who fought and died... gave their lives so we can be free, then and now. We remember them."

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Mark Winans, the city's supervisor of special events and programs, said Galloway's words were important in recognizing the holiday is more than just the mark of a three-day weekend.

"A lot of people don’t recognize that Memorial Day is actually the 30th, and come to take for granted that it's just now represented by a three-day weekend," Winans said.

Galloway's speech also served to educate a group of nearly 70 fourth-graders, many of whom were unfamiliar with the holiday and its meaning, Summit Hall teacher Heather Kirker said.

Winans said he felt it was important for the children to learn from the seniors and speakers about what Memorial Day really represents and called their participation in the ceremony "great."

Rudolph Gaum, a Gaithersburg resident who served in India during World War II, said it was very important to teach a new generation about Memorial Day. He came out to honor the men who lost their lives flying back-and-forth from his air transport command center at the northeast frontier of India and China.

"We lost crews. They wouldn't come back," Gaum said. "They'd clean out their beds and bunks and all that. We honor those who gave their lives."


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