Eagle Archive: For Memorial Day, we recall a fallen soldier who made sure we remembered others
By Kevin Dayhoff, May 26, 2012
http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0527-20120526,0,2171783.story#tugs_story_display
In 1967, our community noted the 100th anniversary of Westminster's Memorial Day observances. According to local historian Jay Graybeal, who wrote about the occasion for the Historical Society of Carroll County in 1997, "Participants came from sixteen states and one newspaper estimated that the crowd numbered 15,000 people."
Ironically and tragically, it was just one year after that centennial celebration that Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr., 38, a Westminster attorney — and a member of the 100th anniversary committee — was shot down and killed while flying a mission over the Demilitarized Zone in Vietnam on July 21, 1968. He was flying an F-100 "Super Sabre" jet fighter at the time of his death.
For #Memorial Day, we recall Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sherman E. Flanagan Jr loss in #Vietnam
Atlee Wampler was a tall man who maintained a military bearing forged in heavy combat throughout WWII, all his life
Wampler served as the #Westminster #Carroll Co #Memorial Day parade marshall from 1947 until his death in 1991
http://tinyurl.com/7vojfmx
On May 28,
Carroll County and
Westminster will mark the 145th observance of
Memorial Day with an expanded parade and three-days of activities — thanks to all the hard work of
American Legion Carroll Post No. 31 and leaders like Skip Amass, coordinator of this year's activities.
The tradition of the parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868, when Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General John A. Logan's May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 — which called upon people to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers.
She gathered a group of schoolchildren for that task, and they walked from the old schoolhouse on Center Street to Westminster Cemetery.
As with all the many stories in Carroll, the hands and hearts of countless individuals and community organizations have guided and nurtured the observances over the years. The list is long and celebrated.
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Next Monday is Memorial Day. For many it is more than a holiday, it is a day when we gather as a community to express our gratitude to our country’s men and women in uniform, who by their sacrifice cannot be with us to enjoy the day…
http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=5122
The tradition of the parade and ceremony in Westminster began in 1868, when Mary Bostwick Shellman followed General John A. Logan’s May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 to adorn the graves of Union soldiers with flowers. She gathered a group of schoolchildren for the task and they walked from the old schoolhouse on Center Street to Westminster Cemetery.
[…]
Last week I wrote about a local community leader, Atlee Willis Wampler, Jr., who served as the Westminster Memorial Day parade marshal for more than 44 years, from just after World War II until he passed away March 11, 1991.
[…]
I was quite struck by a May 6 article in The Washington Post by Ian Shapira, “Barbara Robbins: A slain CIA secretary’s life and death,” about a little-known Vietnam War casualty from a bombing that occurred in Saigon March 30, 1965.
According to the article, “The CIA director revealed only a few details about the 21-year-old woman, a secretary among spies. In the agency’s annual memorial service for employees killed on the job, then-Director Leon E. Panetta announced that a new name had been inscribed with calligraphy inside the
CIA’s Book of Honor: Barbara Annette Robbins, who had volunteered to go to Saigon during the Vietnam War…
[…]
The story of Ms. Robbins is compelling and evocative. Yet for me, what I found particularly haunting was the
black and white picture of a very young American, in a far-off land, defending our freedoms, staring right at us.
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'Skip' Amass leads the charge for Westminster's 145th Memorial Day observance
Keeping the focus on community, service ... and good weather
Not long after the sun comes up on
Memorial Day, and hours before Westminster's 145th Memorial Day parade kicks off at 9:30 a.m., Arnold "Skip" Amass will be on site, helping set up the TV cameras and tying up last-minute loose ends.
Most of all, he'll be praying for good weather during an event that he's been busy planning almost from the moment that last year's 144th Memorial Day parade wrapped up.
"To give you some idea of the scope of this project, the committee that's working on this with me has about 145 people on it," said Amass, who for the past 15 years has also been the voice of the parade, providing commentary for
Carroll County's public access TV channel 19's live coverage of the event.
This is the first year he's taken on the far more demanding role of principal coordinator.
"The people on the committee, who meet at the
American Legion, represent just about every organization and every government in the county, including the library, the farm museum, the police departments," said Amass, 80, himself a
Korean War veteran and long-time member of Westminster's Carroll Post 31 American Legion Post…
http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/ph-ce-skip-amass-0604-20120523,0,1578592,full.story
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#Westminster 2012 #Memorial Day Celebration Calendar of Events - 145th Anniversary
Westminster 2012 Memorial Day Celebration
Calendar of Events - 145th Anniversary
Saturday, May 26
* 9 a.m.-2 p.m. -Antique car show on the City of Westminster parking lot in front of City Hall, Longwell Avenue, Westminster. Entries by the AACA Gettysburg Region Antique Car Club, the Street Cars of Desire and the Free State Corvette Club.
* Noon-5 p.m. - Carroll County Farm Museum - Military reenactors depicting the life and times of soldiers during the War of 1812, the Civil War, World War I, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, Kuwait and other conflicts. There will be demonstrations and displays and encampments. Also jeep rides for kids and a rock climbing wall. Free admission to events.
* 3 p.m. - Carroll County Farm Museum - music concert featuring the Westminster Municipal Band and the Old Line Statesmen Barbershop Group.
* 4-7 p.m. - Fried chicken dinner and entertainment at the VFW Post, 519 Poole Road. Cost is $8 adults; $5 children ages 3 to 8. For tickets, call 410-848-9888, Ext. 1, or Deb Carns at 443-677-0361.
* 7-11 p.m. - Heroes Dance at the VFW Post. Ticket $5; call 410-848-9888, Ext. 1, or 443-677-0361.
Sunday, May 27
* Noon-5 p.m. -Events at the Carroll County Farm Museum, 500 S. Center St., Westminster, continue with 20th century military reenactors, jeep rides and a rock climbing wall. Free admission to events.
* 3 p.m. - Band concert at the Carroll County Farm Museum featuring the Winters Mill High School Band and Joe and Audrey Cimino performing patriotic songs.
Monday, May 28
* 9:30 a.m.-Noon -145th Memorial Day Parade, from Pennsylvania Avenue to Main Street to the Westminster Cemetery. At the conclusion of the parade observance held at the cemetery with comments by grand marshal Commander Matthew Shipley, USN.
* 2 p.m. - Memorial Day service at VFW Post, 519 Poole Road, with guest speaker, retired Army Chaplain Col. Joel Cocklin, a Westminster native who graduated from Westminster High School in 1965. Also an open house, refreshments and special music. Call 443-677-0361 for details.
#Westminster 2012 #Memorial Day Celebration Calendar of Events - 145th Anniversary
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Memorial Day 2012 by Maryland State Senator Joe Getty
Westminster's 145th Consecutive Celebration
Marylanders for Joe Getty
May 26, 2012
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