Grafton Memorial Day celebration has treasure trove of history

GRAFTON W.Va. — For 148 years, Grafton has been home to the longest running Memorial Day parade and ceremony in the United States.

Thousands turned out to see the nearly two-hour parade march towards the Grafton National Cemetery, commemorating the dead as far back as the Civil War. The first casualty of the Civil War, T. Bailey Brown, is buried at the historic Cemetery. Colonel Kevin T. Hanretta, the Assistant Secretary for Operations, Security, and Preparedness with the VA in Washington D.C., spoke at length about the immense history of the Grafton National Cemetery during his address.

“The history here was so impressive, and it goes back to the first casualty of the Civil War,” said Col. Hanretta. “It goes back, to probably, where we’ve had our first Tomb of the Unknown.”

Hanretta is referring to the tombs for soldiers whose names have been lost throughout history. It is likely that Grafton is one of the first, if not the first, Cemetery to intern the unknown victims of wars fought long ago.

“The 613 soldiers here that were unknown but to God,” said Col. Hanretta. “And to think that you could look out and see that type of history here is truly impressive.”

It was Col. Hanretta’s first visit to Grafton, and it was one he won’t soon forget.

“To see the turnout by Grafton, by Taylor County citizens who brought their children and grandchildren,” he said. “And that’s the legacy this Memorial Day service has as an education.”

It is estimated that 413 veterans of World War II die every day. In the 259 days since the VA last calculated the remaining number of WWII Veterans (September 9, 2014), around 107,000 veterans of WWII have passed away. The median age for surviving vets of WWII is 92 years old. If this rate remained static, all the veterans of World War II will have passed away by the midway point of 2021.

It’s a startling realization. But Colonel Hanretta said that Grafton does a particularly good job of keeping the history alive (this year’s Parade Marshal was a surviving WWII veteran). By involving families and the community at large, Col. Hanretta says it allows younger generations to understand exactly what the ultimate sacrifice is.

“Bring out the teenagers,” said Hanretta. “Bring out the children. Show them the importance of service to this nation and the fact that someone will remember.”

Colonel Hanretta also presented all of the surviving veterans of the Vietnam War at Monday’s ceremony with honorary pins.

Mentioning he’d like to return to Grafton one day, and with a hint of foreshadowing, he mentioned how special the 150th anniversary would be in two years in what will still be the nation’s longest running Memorial Day tradition.





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