Memorial Day flags at Warren Memorial Hospital

Warren Memorial Hospital honors members of the military who have died serving our country.

John Williams, Corporate Director of Safety and Emergency Management for Valley Health, is passionate about properly honoring our fallen military members and has coordinated the placement of 8 flags to honor all branches of the military and POW/MIA. In this photo of the Military Flag display, you can see the following flags:

Memorial Day Military Flag displays at the acute care hospitals honoring our fallen military members.

1. U.S. Flag
2. Army
3. Marine Corps
4. Navy
5. Air Force
6. Coast Guard
7. POW/MIA
8. U.S. Flag

Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War as a way to honor and remember those who sacrificed and died in the war. People in various towns across the country picked a day in the spring to honor their fallen loved ones by decorating their tombstones with flowers and holding gatherings to remember them. Over a century later Congress honored this practice with the federal holiday we observe this weekend.

Williams said, “I want to thank our Facilities Management department at each hospital for getting the flag pole ground sleeves put in the ground and the Safety and Security team for getting the flags and poles assembled and placed. This service to our military would not have happened without their help and dedication”.

Williams also shared this poem and prayer to remember those who have given what Abraham Lincoln termed “their last full measure of devotion.”

A Litany of Remembrance

In the rising of the sun and in its going down,
we remember them.
In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
we remember them.
In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring,
we remember them.
In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer,
we remember them.
In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn,
we remember them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
we remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
we remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart,
we remember them.
When we have joys we yearn to share,
we remember them.
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us,
as we remember them.

Poem by Rabbi Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer

Have a wonderful Memorial Day and hope that you can set aside some time to stop by one of the displays and REMEMBER THEM.