BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
As Northern Kentuckians turned out Monday for Memorial Day parades in more than half a dozen cities, speakers urged the crowds not to forget the holiday's true meaning.
"Let's try to remember othose who've sacrificed their lives for us," Newport's Nellie Johnson told people at her city's ceremony.
"When you see (veterans), say, "Thank you for what you did to protect our country and give us our freedom.' "
Ms. Johnson knows firsthand the pain of losing a loved one in battle. More than 50 years ago, her brother, Benton Hanlon, was killed at the age of 25 in World War II's Battle of the Bulge.
"You never forget something like that," said Ms. Johnson, who for decades, helped organize Newport's Memorial Day Parade. "I don't think young people today realize exactly what Memorial Day stands for. All they know is it's a three-day holiday."
From Newport and Walton to Erlanger and Park Hills, Northern Kentuckians celebrated Memorial Day with parades, picnics and lots of politicians.
So many politicians marched in the 69th annual Bellevue-Dayton Memorial Day Parade that they outnumbered military veterans by more than 2-to-1.
On Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, several parade-goers chuckled, as a springer spaniel marched in the parade, bearing a large "Rick Robinson for Congress" sticker.
The name of another Republican congressional candidate, Gex "Jay" Williams, could be found plastered on numerous baby strollers, and children watching parades often found themselves papered with political stickers, as they jostled to retrieve candy tossed by candidates.
While politicians were in abundance at Park Hills' Memorial Day program, they took a back seat to Special Olympics champion Mary Lohre, civic activist and grand marshal Janice Cantrell and elementary pupils Eddie Sweet and John Lorenz. The students won first and second place, respectively, in an essay contest on the meaning of Memorial Day.
Holiday tradition
For many, the holiday was a chance to get reacquainted with childhood friends or former neighbors.
"We live in Fort Mitchell now, but we still come from there every year just to see the (Bellevue-Dayton Memorial Day) Parade," said Gary Bricking, who marched in the parade as a child. "This parade has a tradition."
Each Memorial Day, the 55-year-old Bellevue native and his family gather on the same Fairfield Avenue street corner and wait for friends to find them.
Nearby, former Bellevue resident Carol Alford, who now splits her residency between Cincinnati and Utah, pointed excitedly as her former dentist and a man who used to own a Bellevue barber shop marched by.
"We watch the parade every year," said Ed Hausfeld, 71, as he sat in his lawn chair, a small American flag atop his hat. "You get to see a lot of people you haven't seen for a long time."
"I'd do it all again'
In Covington, where organizers of the 77th annual Memorial Day Parade boasted of having Northern Kentucky's oldest such event, Army veteran Virgil Stansberry flew a flag from the porch of his Holman Avenue home and waved to passing units.
As a Sherman tank commander who stormed the beaches of Omaha in the D-Day invasion, Mr. Stansberry estimated he lost "a hundred and some buddies" that day.
"As time's gone by, it seems that people have more or less forgotten about the veterans and the sacrifices that were made way back in 1943, '44 and '45," Mr. Stansberry said. "But we veterans will plug on, and do the best we can. I'm proud of what I did for my country, and I'd do it all again, if I had to."
Across the Ohio River, thousands of Southwestern Ohio residents also watched parades and participated in cemetery ceremonies. In Green Township, under threatening gray skies, veterans slowly lowered the faded black Prisoners of War flag, tattered American flag and worn Ohio state flag that have been flying in Veterans Park since last Memorial Day.
As each one was retired, a veteran raised a crisp new flag to the top of the three flag poles. The 50 veterans gathered -- representing wars from World War II to Desert Storm -- raised their hands to their brows in a salute and watched the new flags waver in the gentle breeze. "It's not just about picnics and hot dogs," Green Township Trustee Bill Seitz told the crowd as aromas from grills fired up at nearby cookouts wafted through the air. "It's about the sacrifice of our veterans . . . who helped make this a great, great country." At the start, a festival mood met the parade in Hamilton as people lined the milelong route on 10th and High streets.
Marchers waved and shouted to friends. The George Washington Drill Team mugged for TV cameras. The Badin High School Marching Band played "Louie, Louie."
The parade finished at Greenwood Cemetery, where white crosses, American flags and bouquets reminded everyone of the day's somber meaning.
"This is one of the most difficult times for us as veterans to be standing before you," emcee Jerry Carroll said. "Tremendous amounts of energy and life have gone to make sure we have the greatest country in the world."
Local historian and writer Jim Blount quoted from President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, in which he dedicated part of a Civil War battlefield as a graveyard: "The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."
