The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-05-31
Grand Army Veterans
Honor Their Dead
Comrades.

place on earth is among the graves Of
the Grand Army plot, were witnessed
by an immense concourse of people,
the impressive nature of the occasion
and the eloquent tribute to those de-
parted paid in the grafton of General
Keifer being such as to touch all those
who heard. Throughout the cemetery
kind friends and loving relatives had
been at work all day and the graves
of loved ones were each piled high
with blossoms.
The parade formed at o'clock at the
) corner of Beretania avenue and Emma,
Marshal of the day Andrade starting
the line in motion promptly on time.
The marines and the expected cadets
from the st. Louis College failed to
appear and there were no veterans of
the Spanish American war in line, but
the parade was a splendid one never
theless. It was led by firing squad Of
regulars from Camp Mckinley, follow
ed by the Hawaiian band and four
companies of the National Guard with
signal and hospital corps, under the
command of Colonel Johnson. Follow
ing the soldiers came one hundred and
thirty cadets from the Kamehameha
School, whose marching was excellent,
suffering in no way in comparison with
the trained militia boys.
The veterans, members of the George
w. De Long Post, No. As, twenty-seven
in number, rode in a tal1y-ho and car
riages, each of the venerable soldiers
bearing floral tributes for the graves
of their comrades gone before to the
grand muster.
The orator of the day. General J. w.
Keifer, of Ohio, accompanied by Sem
ator Piles and Miss Ray Bell, occupied
a carriage. driven by C. H. Dickey,
chaplain of the G. A. r. post. A num-
Der of the visiting Congressman follow
ed in carriages, three of the number,
Messrs Alexander, Capron and Colonel
Hepburn. being Grand Army men.
The marching of the National Guard
men was particularly good yesterday,
the men showing a snap in their work
that was most pleasing and their erect
carriage and faultless alignment was
also most noticeable.
The Nuuanu cemetery was reached
IN twenty IIliuulGS, LIE pAIddC bCAhS
led through the gate and to the Grand
Army plot by the band playing the
Dead March. The men took UP their
positions about the graves of the de-
parted members and the beautiful rft-
ual of the Grand Army was gone
through There was one omission in
the ceremony, that of taps after the
firing squad had thrice volleyed over
the graves.
Prior to the grafton of the day by
General Keifer, Master r. n. Moss
man Jr. delivered an excellent address
and Lincolns great Gettysburg ad-
dress was read feelingly by Miss Ray
Bell
General Keifer. who was introduced
by P. H Rider, Post Commander,
spoke as follows:
AN ELOQUENT. GRAFTON.
Comrades of the Grand Army,
Ladies and Gentlemen: BY accident l
am here to address you. I can only
wish that / was prepared to speak to
you as you deserve and as the occasion
requires. When the committee called
upon me to make the address here on
this Memorial Day I promptly accept
ed. not knowing that my time would be
so engaged that l would not be able
to give the proper thought for the oc-
casion But I have tried all my life to
meet the wants of my comrades in |
arms and merit whatever call might be |
made upon my services.
81 bring to you from the Commander
of the Grand Army, General r. B. |
Brown of Ohio, his greeting, his warm |
feeling for you, his comrades in this
60, Is tnr I were
himself today, with his warm enthusi-
asm for the Grand Army and the vet
Grams, that he might stir your blood
and arouse your enthusiasm in way
that l am not capable of.
This custom of decorating the graves
of the soldier dead originated forty
years ago General John A. Logan fix
ed the date for the services to our
departed comrades for the thirtieth day
of May, when throughout the greater
part of the Republic the flowers would
be in bloom If he had been here and
looked about him. studying your con-
ditions, he could have selected any day
in the year for the gathering of fresh
flowers to strew on the graves of the
soldier dead.
ct have been overwhelmed rather
than delighted with the scene in this
sacred place These great banks OF
beautiful flowers. this great assembly,
the solemnity and order which has pre-
vailed, all have overwhelmed me. Here,
far from my home, I deem it an honor
to stand with my comrades of that
Civil War to take part in the exer-
cises here, the same exercises that are
now going on in every city, town and
hamlet in the great Republic, being
participated in by eighty millions OF
people.
What does it mean? Why this GER
emony one day of each year in honor
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