The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-05-20
INTER-ALLIED
RITES TO MARK
MEMORIAL DAY
American Legion Promotes Obsery'
anee of Those Who Sleep In
Foreign Sell.

indianapolis, Ind, May 20. = Me-
mortal day, May so, will be gener :
ally observed throughout the world
this year, due in large part to the
efforts of the American legion. ac-
cording to an announcement MADE
at legion headquarters mere TO-DAY.
The statement says:
"Originally designated by the
Union veterans of the Civil war as
a particular Decoration day for
their fallen comrades May 80 grad
ualiy has become day set apart III
memory OF all Americans who died
for their country. Although it has
long been the custom of many south
ern states to observe a memorial
holiday of their own on April 20,
the tendency of a, uniform observ-
ance has been apparent since the
World war. The legion, composed
of both the north and the south, Of
ficially adopted May 80 as its Me-
mortal day and posts Of the Nori1
war men on both sides of the Ma
son-Dixon line have, for the last
three years, simultaneously honor
ed the dead OF the Civil. Spanish
American and World wars.
When the InteP-Allied Veterans
Federation, made up of World war
veterans of France, England, Can
ada, Italy and the others of the al
lied nations and of which the leg
ion is a member, adopted the leg
ions date for the observance of the
rites for the dead, May 80 became
an international holiday, compare
BILE only in universal observance TO
Christmas. This year it will be OBJ
served by legion posts and allied
veterans organizations in the fol-
lowing countries other than the
United States: Canada, Belgium,
France, Poland, Turkey, Mexico,
Argentine, Brazil, British Isles,
Chile, China, Cuba, Guatemala,
Japan, Peru, Porto Rico, Portu-
gese West Africa, Santo Domingo,
Spanish Honduras, India, Vene-
zuela and in the Canal Zone, Ha-
wall, Philippine Islands and the
territory Of Alaska.
Legion Plans.
"As it did last year and the year
before, the segion will decorate and
hold appropriate exercises over the
grave of every American who
sleeps on foreign soil, as well as
thus honoring the graves Of Amer
lean and allied veterans who are
buried in the cemeteries of this
country. Legion posts in France,
Belgium, Poland and Turkey will
visit old battIehelds and adjacent
cemeteries.
The United States graves regis
tration service has completed its
huge task of returning to this coun-
try the bodies of 42,023 of the A. z.
F. who died overseas, but $4,000
Americans still remain permanent
ly buried in cemeteries of the al
lied nations.
ITO finance the Memorial day
decoration of graves overseas, each
of the legion's 1000 posts were
asked to subscribe an amount equal
to five cents for each of it's mem
bers. A central committee of the
legion in France will receive the
charge of decorating the individ-
ual graves.
Personal Side.
Several months before Memorial
day Hanford MacNider, national
of the American legion,
sent each post a request that exeT-
cises this year be made as personal
as possible. With this end in view
Mr.. MacNider wrote, the legion is
ready to make special efforts to
aid relatives and friends who think
On Memorial day not so much of
the whole army of the dead as they
will of some one youth who went
forth to fight and did not come
back Gold star parents, desiring
that special attention be paid to
the grave of their departed, re-
questing a certain type of floral
decoration or religious ceremony.
were asked to communicate their
wishes to the organizations ma
tional headquarters here, from
which they were relayed to the
legion post nearest the place of
burial.
THE legion will not confine it's
exercises and decorations to the
memory of World war heroes alone.
The graves of all veterans of all
wars will be visited and
decorated and fittingly honoFed.
Last year the organization request
ed its posts and units of the legion
auxiliary to seek out, in each COM
graves of all American SOL
der and sailor dead and to prepare
charts showing where such graves
were located and how they could be
reached. The efforts of the World
war men have resulted in MANY
graves of Civil war veterans being
rescued from obscurity and the
graves of several veterans of 1912.
long since forgotten, have been
found and restored.
The Dead Overseas.
"a similar plan of keeping a
close and honored watch on graves
Of Americans buried overseas has
been evolved. There will be in
France four principal cemeteries
wherein men of the A. e. F. will
sleep forever. At present a spe-
cial fine arts commission is working
On the project which will entail. for