03/18/2024
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Monday, May 25, 2020 was Memorial Day. Bladen County residents celebrated the day in different ways.

Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy held a Memorial Day Ceremony to remember the fallen military members.

Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
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Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 8062, held a Memorial Day Flag Ceremony.

Some Bladen County Veterans and citizens put flags on graves of those who served in the military but have passed away.

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BladenOnline.com published a few articles about those who served as well.

Memorial Day Essay by Candace Rohrbacher, East Bladen High School

Memorial Day is a very key holiday in our country meant to honor those who have died while in Military Service. Memorial Day was first created to honor the soldiers during the Civil War. Many people celebrate this holiday by visiting graves and memorials and remembering and honoring those who are not here today. The holiday is observed on the last Monday of May and was originally called decoration day because soldiers would visit the graves of their fallen comrades, and decorate their graves with flowers, flags, and wreaths. But in the ’80s, it officially became known as Memorial Day but not legally changed to Memorial Day until the ´90s.  READ MORE


Saluting the Service of Lieutenant Colonel Janice Ryckeley

The COVID-19 Pandemic taught many to appreciate those who sacrifice their lives for the safety and wellness of others in more sincere ways. The year 2020 is the Year of the Nurse, and today is Memorial Day. At this time, it behooves us to remember the life of Lieutenant Colonel Janice Marie Butler Ryckeley. A life worthy of celebrating, honoring, and remembering. READ MORE

 


A man called Frank

By Jefferson Weaver

They stand frozen in time, two men far younger than I am now, Gary Cooper-esque smiles under dark eyes.

The taller of the two is my grandfather, W. Thomas Weaver. My dad was 2, leaning to 3, when Grandfather sent the photo home from France in 1918. READ MORE

 


The Misadventures of Lance Corporal Montague

Contributed by Blake Proctor

Written by Col. Lawrence G. Kelley USMC (Ret.)

On an overcast morning in the spring of 1984, I received an unexpected call from the Naval Advisor to the Berlin Brigade Commandant: Could I come over to his office to discuss a somewhat unusual matter? The call piqued my curiosity, since even as the Senior Marine in Berlin, a position known tongue-in-cheek as “CINCMarForSpree” [Commander-in-Chief, Marine Forces, River Spree”], I rarely had contact with him. Fifteen minutes later I entered his office in the Berlin Brigade Headquarters Compound on Clayallee. READ MORE


A Little Memorial Day Ditty for You, Charlotte

By Blake Proctor

In honor of Memorial Day on the 25th, I have been asked to come up with one of my unforgettable memories; so here’s a tale of happenstance I bet you never knew:

After returning from Southeast Asia, and having run the required gauntlet of spittle from screaming protesters in San Fran, I got to Berlin in July, 1970. READ MORE

 


Series: What Memorial Day Means to US Military Veterans with U.S. Army Veteran Dr. Munn-Goins

U.S. Army Veteran and Bladen County Commissioner Dr. Ophelia Munn-Goins allowed us the opportunity to discuss what Memorial Day means to her in a telephone interview during the COVID-19 Pandemic. READ MORE

 


Series: What Memorial Day Means to US Military Veterans

In the first interview of the series US Veteran Dennis Troy explains his service in the Air Force. Currently Troy serves on the National Association of Community College Trustees Board, he is the Chairman of the Bladen Community College Board of Trustees, a Deacon at Pleasant Union Missionary Baptist Church and an active member in the Bladwin Branch Male Choir.  READ MORE

 

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