Syndication News Column:
Fort Bayard National Cemetery
Memorial Day - 2020

(This photograph of the Fort Bayard National Cemetery was provided courtesy of the U S Department of Veterans Affairs.)

Today is Memorial Day - May 25, 2020.  This is the day set aside to remember the men and women who have died while serving our country as members of the military of the United States of America.  The holiday was initially known as “Decoration Day” in many parts of the country.

For generations, veterans services organizations, scouting groups, and just ordinary folk have been taking the time to decorate the gravesites of the people who have served our nation.   In earlier times, graves were decorated with flowers on this holiday.  As years went on, small American flags were placed at the gravesites of military veterans on Memorial Day.

Some of those that died in service had been drafted into the military.  Some joined the armed forces as volunteers.

All put their country ahead of themselves.

Though you may be in your home today, you are invited to join with your neighbors to pay your respects to these men and women.

You can do so by calling up a living military veteran to thank them for their service.  You can listen if they choose to discuss their times in uniform.

While there will be no organized public events – like the annual placement of small American flags at each gravesite of a military veteran – at the Fort Bayard National Cemetery on Memorial Day this year, families and friends may still visit the cemetery as well as continue the tradition of placing flowers and small American flags at their individual veteran’s gravesite.  The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has asked that “Visitors should keep safety in mind when visiting the cemetery and to abide by all federal, state, and local guidelines including social distancing and use of face masks.”

The staff at this cemetery will have a small observance that is not open to the public.  The ceremony will be photographed and posted on the social media sites of the National Cemetery Administration of the U S Department of Veterans Affairs.

In addition, there are two events being held today that you can partake in from your home.

At 10 AM this morning, you can view the recorded Memorial Day ceremonies at the Santa Fe National Cemetery by going to the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System Facebook Page by clicking here.

“We are committed to observing Memorial Day 2020 in a manner that honors those who sacrificed for our nation while protecting the health and safety of visitors and our team members,” said Cindy Van Bibber, Santa Fe/Fort Bayard National Cemetery Director.

At 3 PM this afternoon, Americans throughout the world are encouraged by the U S Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in the National Moment of Remembrance.  Individuals and families are asked to pause for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to our nation.  The U S Department of Veterans Affairs noted that “As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: ‘It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.’”

Residents of Silver City and Grant County have celebrated this day in different ways through the years.

According to a news article dated June 11, 1886, the Albuquerque Morning Democrat reported that “Decoration Day in Silver City was celebrated by the consumption of bug juice.”

Interestingly, a news article dated May 23, 1893, in the Southwest Sentinel of Silver City stated that “Next Tuesday will be Decoration day.  Will it be observed in Silver City?”

On May 1, 1905, the Las Vegas Daily Optic reported that “The United Spanish war veterans at Fort Bayard…are preparing an elaborate program for Memorial day observance.”

The Deming Graphic included the headline “Memorial Day Services at Ft. Bayard” on its front page on May 30, 1946.  The news article detailed that veterans organizations from throughout Grant County – from “Silver City, Central [today’s “Santa Clara”], Bayard, Hurley, and Santa Rita” – joined together to honor the veterans who were buried at the cemetery at Fort Bayard.

The Fort Bayard National Cemetery is one of only two national cemeteries in the State of New Mexico.  The first known burial at Fort Bayard occurred in 1866, according to a statement from the U S Department of Veterans Affairs.  Burials of military veterans continued in the years since at this site in Grant County.  The statement indicated that Fort Bayard Cemetery became part of the Veterans Administration National Cemetery System in 1973, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 7, 2002.

[The government organization known as the “Veterans Bureau” was later re-named as the “Veterans Administration”;  this Federal agency became a Cabinet-level department known as the "Department of Veterans Affairs" in 1989.]

The Fort Bayard National Cemetery is the final resting place for thousands of
people who served the United States of America in uniform.
(The photograph was produced by Ms. Cindy Van Bibber in January of 2020 and
was provided courtesy of the U S Department of Veterans Affairs.)

© 2020 Richard McDonough