BERLIN – As many in the resort area spent the past several days making beach plans and scheduling barbeques for the three-day weekend that heralds the start of summer, a handful of Berlin residents embarked on solemn trips to local cemeteries.
Every year, in the week leading up to Memorial Day members of Duncan-Showell American Legion Post 231 visit five area cemeteries to place flags at the graves of roughly 300 veterans. That, says Gregory Purnell, is the least they can do to honor the Worcester County residents who served in the country’s armed forces.
“It’s something that is significant because that is what the day commemorates,” said Purnell, a 43-year member of Post 231. “You’re honoring the war dead. That’s what Memorial Day is about. It’s not about a barbeque or a parade. It’s about honoring those veterans.”
Purnell said members of Duncan-Showell Post 231 have placed flags on the graves of local veterans for the past 60 years. It was a practice started by some of the post’s founders that its current membership has continued.
“It’s something the members look forward to every year,” Purnell said.
Not only does it honor the veterans themselves, Purnell said it reminds the public of Memorial Day’s true meaning.
“You see those flags waving in the cemetery and it brings to mind what the day is really about,” he said.
This weekend, members of Post 231 will continue their Memorial Day activities. At 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, a ceremony will be held at the memorial at the intersection of West Street and Main Street in downtown Berlin. At 10 a.m., members of Duncan-Showell Post 231 will take part in the annual Memorial Day Service at Saint Paul United Methodist Church on Flower Street. The service, which rotates between local churches each year, includes a rifle salute and the playing of “Taps.”
“It just touches the hearts and souls of all the people there,” Purnell said.
At 11 a.m. on Monday, after early morning remembrance ceremonies at local cemeteries, Post 231 members will take part in Berlin’s well-loved Memorial Day parade down Flower Street.
“It is a very popular parade that is enjoyed by citizens throughout our town and also attracts residents from the Lower Shore,” Mayor Gee Williams said. “Memorial Day is a solemn occasion but the parade allows us to celebrate the sacrifice veterans have made for our country.”
Williams said part of what made the parade so special was the fact that it was organized by community members, not town officials.
“I’m so proud that the community puts this together,” Williams said. “It seems to be growing every year.”
According to Purnell, who helps organize the parade as a member of the Berlin Community Improvement Association, the event started as a Decoration Day parade in the 1930s. In the first half of the 20th century, the parade, which he likened to Mardi Gras, made a circuit of the entire town.
“It was a real holiday,” Purnell said, recalling how excited he had been as a seventh-grader to march with the one of the bands in the parade. “It was an honor for us to grow up with that in our lives.”
Though the parade eventually fizzled out, well-known resident Jesse Turner helped re-create it in the 1990s. In the nearly three decades since it’s remained a popular May event. While last year’s parade was dedicated to Turner’s memory, this year’s event will showcase Korean War veterans. Several local Korean War veterans will be parade marshals.
The parade route runs from Stephen Decatur Middle School to Henry Park. Though the parade itself is not long—it averages about 30 units—festivities continue through the afternoon. Family games will be set up in Henry Park while vendors and food booths will also line the parade route.
“It’s a place where friends come and unite,” Purnell said.
