WHAT: It is the honor and tradition of our middle school students to place US flags at more than 400 Veterans’ grave sites in the town of Buckfield each Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is a US federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered. The holiday, which is celebrated every year on the final Monday of May, was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service. Students complete their service each year by removing the flags just prior to Veterans' Day and the impending winter weather. June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of ALL wars. World War I, known at the time as “The Great War," officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in Versailles, France. Fighting had ceased seven months earlier, however, when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday, a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be known as "Armistice Day." In 1954, after World War II and after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of ALL wars.
WHY: As responsible, involved citizens BJSHS Middle School students embrace the role of placing and removing flags from the burial sites of United States Veterans buried in Buckfield. It is an opportunity to learn the history of our country, to remember and share stories of family and friends who have proudly served the United States, and to provide a service for the communities in which the students live. It is our hope to extend this service to the towns of Hartford and Sumner, as well.
WHERE: All 8th Graders walk to and from the Damon Cemetery, a little more than a mile from school. They will be responsible for the hundreds of US Veterans buried there. Half of the 7th graders are left at the East Buckfield Cemetery; they complete their work, and walk about five miles back to school stopping at three other cemeteries along the way. The remaining 7th graders are taken to the far end of South Whitman School Road up on Streaked Mountain. They venture into the woods to the Shepherd Cemetery and then onto Lt. Thayer's Lair and The Hathaway Cemetery on North Whitman School Road. They complete their five mile hike as they wend their way to the Prince Cemetery on the Old Paris Hill Road. They are picked up by bus and returned to school.
FLAG DAY: In addition, each year the entire middle school participates in a flag burning ceremony at the Buckfield American Legion on Flag Day. They enact the process of retiring the used flags and learn the way in which they are ceremoniously disposed.
Memorial Day is a US federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces are remembered. The holiday, which is celebrated every year on the final Monday of May, was formerly known as Decoration Day and originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service. Students complete their service each year by removing the flags just prior to Veterans' Day and the impending winter weather. June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of ALL wars. World War I, known at the time as “The Great War," officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in Versailles, France. Fighting had ceased seven months earlier, however, when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday, a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be known as "Armistice Day." In 1954, after World War II and after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of ALL wars.
WHY: As responsible, involved citizens BJSHS Middle School students embrace the role of placing and removing flags from the burial sites of United States Veterans buried in Buckfield. It is an opportunity to learn the history of our country, to remember and share stories of family and friends who have proudly served the United States, and to provide a service for the communities in which the students live. It is our hope to extend this service to the towns of Hartford and Sumner, as well.
WHERE: All 8th Graders walk to and from the Damon Cemetery, a little more than a mile from school. They will be responsible for the hundreds of US Veterans buried there. Half of the 7th graders are left at the East Buckfield Cemetery; they complete their work, and walk about five miles back to school stopping at three other cemeteries along the way. The remaining 7th graders are taken to the far end of South Whitman School Road up on Streaked Mountain. They venture into the woods to the Shepherd Cemetery and then onto Lt. Thayer's Lair and The Hathaway Cemetery on North Whitman School Road. They complete their five mile hike as they wend their way to the Prince Cemetery on the Old Paris Hill Road. They are picked up by bus and returned to school.
FLAG DAY: In addition, each year the entire middle school participates in a flag burning ceremony at the Buckfield American Legion on Flag Day. They enact the process of retiring the used flags and learn the way in which they are ceremoniously disposed.