The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-05-30
HEROES o. GH!E lR


who live in the aitersmlles OF prosper.
'lifg and peace, purchased al the price
OF mighty sncrlfioe. we owe TO you,
onr fathers. debt Of gratitude that
we can never pay.
no you we are indebted for Me sal
cfesi rights q q noble lteedpri From
yor ~ inherit The heavenborn gift of
-Four gfeat American Liberty.
Hear me men " ito stood be-
fore the shot and Gettysbtifg
Land Shiloh Heir mo Ye grand old
VETERANS Of ylIksBurg and Atlanta.
1--we, yonr SONS and your daughters,
l,haye altered together here to-day to
render INTO the living heroes, and
Eunto the dead Our highest need Of
honor our fullest measure Of graft.
tude and reyernce and. love. "a
1--WE hear once more, over the long
LISTS OF the departed years, the dis.
tant thunder Of your immortal foot
y falls. We open our hearts this day TO.
you, our, best beloved, our country's
saytors and our nations great deliver:
ets.
''Ige boast Of our magnificent Ameri-
lean Liberty. Shall we, in the pride
and pomp Of power, forget the lipefaz
Iitorg WeTsiflg Of the home Of the
IjbraYe and the land Of the free. Shall
we forget then whence and by whom
and at what "a price this freedom
| came2 Nay, sons and daughters Of vet
lerans, we shall not forget. But unto
our children and our children's chill
dren we de bequeath the story Of their
wonderful deeds, the eternal memory
For their glorious achievements.
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp. Their faces
are little weary now. Their eyes are
I5growing dim! Their broWs are crown
ed with snow h Their ranks are thin
lining. Bit their hearts, God bless
them, beat inst as loyalty to-day as
they did almost half a century ago.
"As we go forth to scatter garlands
above the sacred dust of our lament
ed fallen, we lind among our sleeping
comrades yonder the unknown hero,
asleep in the unknown grave. But for
every unmarked and every unlettered
tomb we have raised a monumsa: IN a
million hearts that shall stand until
Time is no longer We crown them
with the laurel leaves of fame. We
wreathe above them the chaplets OF
our immutable, affections. And thus,
enshrined on the altar of their country,
our unknown dead shall sleep the pa
triots' sleep, side by side with the i'm
mortal Abraham Lincoln and the mar
tyrol William Mckinley.
Listen! hear the sound OF tramp
ing. 1t is the footsteps Of the old boys
in blue. see them coming.
"And If from those grass-growni
touches Of our sleeping comrades, III
from those graves kept yerdant with
the tears of q nations grief, those
mute, still lips could speak to the
world to-day, with the power Of their
united silence, their prayer would be:
Grant unto us, 0 just and merciful
God, INSTRUMENTATION and the reali-
cation of an universal peace.'
Bring hither then, your 1as:estE
Maytime, flowers. Scatter your roses
with d 'eonsecrated hand. Fling to the
soft May breezes the old Star Span!
I led Banner. It has fiutterehlits folds
Triumphant through all the history of
our nations flood;a storm.
aAnd lest we forget, let tus instil
into tile minds OF the rising genera
ton the inlmea slrable significance of
this Memorial Day. Let US impress
.upon the youth Of our land the su-
.bifme lessons OF an incorruptible pa.
triotism. And let us write across
the blue dome OF the everlasting heav-
ems these words: TO be an American
is greater than to be a King"