The Origin of Memorial Day & How Fairfield Observes
Every year on the last Monday of May, tens of thousands of Fairfielders swarm the downtown area to claim their spots with blankets and chairs to settle in for the festivities of the Memorial Day Parade - but why is it that we observe Memorial Day the way we do?
Memorial Day has been a highly celebrated event in Fairfield for years, with events starting early in the morning as St. Paul’s Episcopal Church holds their annual pancake breakfast while people begin to quickly line the streets. As the day goes on, vendors sell festive red-white and blue glow-sticks and pop-snappers to kids, men dressed in full Revolution-era attire fire near-deafening blanks into the sky, the Pyramid Shriners circle around in their tiny red cars, little leaguers walk with their Coaches, Girl Scouts and Brownies march along, and High School bands play their patriotic tunes - but most importantly - all this is done to honor Fairfield’s late veterans and give them the recognition and respect they deserve for giving their lives our country.
Image Cred: FairfieldCT.org
Memorial Day, originally known as “Decoration Day'' is a federal holiday in the United States dedicated to honoring and mourning military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The state of Michigan declared “Decoration Day” an official state holiday in 1871, and every Northern state joined in by adopting the holiday. While the name Memorial Day is said to have it’s beginnings around 1882, the use of the name wasn’t truly commonplace until after World War II, and was not federally recognized as the official name of the holiday until 1971, according to Military.com. Along with the holiday’s name change as a peculiar fact, from 1868 to 1970, Memorial Day was always celebrated on May 30th, but has since been moved exclusively to the last Monday of May.
Traditionally on Memorial Day, many visit cemeteries and memorials to honor veterans who have passed. For years, the Fairfield United Veterans Organization have placed flags before the graves of Fairfield’s fallen soldiers in cemeteries across the town. While the exact origin of this practice is disputed, there have been multiple accounts in history of decoration of both Union and Confederate gravesites in the South by local women during the Civil War, as this then began to become commonplace in Northern states. After the Assasination of President Abraham Lincoln, commemorations and memorials became even more widespread throughout the United States.
One tradition that has coincided with Memorial Day all across the United States is the good old fashioned parade. It is disputed that the first parades used to commemorate the holiday kicked-off in either 1867 or 1868, as multiple towns across the country ranging from Brooklyn, NY to Doylestown, PA, claim to have the oldest Memorial Day parade.
Although Fairfield’s annual Memorial Day parade hasn’t been around since the 1860s, according to a FairfieldCitizen.org article, the first official parade in town likely occurred in 1923. According to the Fairfield Museum and Historical Society’s Archive, the annual parade has been running the same route for at least the past 60 years, starting at the South Pine Creek and Post Road intersection before travelling down the Old Post Road and ending in front of the Town Green, where the Fairfield Honor Roll War Memorial stands, the monument holding over 5,000 names of Fairfielders who have served in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf War.
Every year the town has a committee that undergoes extensive and careful planning of the event, in which their efforts do not go unnoticed. Along with this, a chair of the parade is selected, commonly a decorated Veteran or First Selectperson. Vera Nosal was Fairfield’s first woman to head the parade 1984, as she served as an aviation machinist in the United States Navy in World War II.
Since the Memorial Day parade crowd in town has grown immensely over last near-century, by 2011 as residents scrambled for the best seat in the house by marking their territory along Old Post Road with chairs or tape days in advance, the town’s Board of Police Commissioners decided to ban setting up more than 24-hours along the parade route.
It’s most important to remember that while it’s incredibly fun to enjoy the day’s festivities, to celebrate Memorial Day is more than just a backyard barbeque or a parade. It’s about honoring those who gave their lives for our country. In his 1948 Fairfield Memorial Day Parade Address, Brig. General Herbert H. Vreeland said it best: “The sons and daughters of Fairfield, like their fellows throughout our broad land, have ever been responsive to the call of duty. Our thoughts and love go out to them today, wherever they may be and in whatsoever just cause they engaged”.
Special thanks to the Fairfield Museum and Historical Center for their help
For more information on Fairfield’s Memorial Day Parade, visit:
