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Local AHEPA Chapters Make Memorial Day a True Remembrance Volunteer to Help Honor Over 500 Greek-Americans Buried at Arlington National Cemetery this Saturday May 19, 2009 The true meaning of Memorial Day has often been lost as just another three day get-away weekend for most Greek-American young adults. As members of small ethnic group in the United States, with many of us being first or second generation, most of us don’t have much direct exposure to friends or family who have fought and died as members of our nation’s armed forces. One group of older men however, notably from AHEPA Chapters 31 and 438 in Washington, DC and Falls Church, VA respectively, have managed to make Memorial Day Weekend a true remembrance of the over 500 Greek Americans that are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, one of our Nation’s most sacred sites on Memorial Day. For the last 60 years local AHEPA members have been spent several hours every Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend laying wreaths at the headstones of these service members, armed with nothing more than a map of their particular section of the cemetery. (It's inspiring to see these men, many of whom are pushing 70 and over walking the grounds of the cemetery distributing these wreaths year after year to the point where they can tell you where a particular grave marker is based on the location of a certain tree or other landmark.) Any young adults that would like to assist in this effort can contact us at [email protected]. (Although this is an AHEPA sponsored event, both men and women are encouraged to attend, regardless of their affiliation with AHEPA or its related organizations.) The tentative plan is to meet at St. Sophia’s parking lot at 8:00 AM on Saturday, but if we can confirm a large enough group that is interested in helping soon we can try to see if there’s a time we can meet the rest of the group from AHEPA at the cemetery itself. According to the old-timers who have done this for years though, it’s better to get to the cemetery early to avoid most of the members of Rolling Thunder who will show up as the morning wears on. Afterwards, AHEPA will host a rooftop barbecue from its headquarters in the heart of Dupont Circle. While admittedly a solemn event, it is truly a great way to honor those who gave their lives for this country throughout the decades. |
