Yakym speaks at New Paris Memorial Day event

May 28—NEW PARIS — Under sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s, the New Paris Memorial Day Parade and Service got underway just after 2 p.m. Sunday.

Bill Rogers, New Paris, took part in the parade with his grandson Jaxson, 11, and granddaughter Lilly, 10, riding bicycles along the parade route.

"We're going to ride in the parade," Rogers said shortly before it got underway. "We decided to decorate our bicycles."

For Rogers' and his family, the event had special meaning. His son, Nick Mangus, is a U.S Army veteran, having served in the infantry in Afghanistan.

"He made it home safely, but we always want to remember those who have fallen," he said.

The origins of the Memorial Day holiday date back to the U.S. Civil War.

"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America," according to the website www.usmemorialday.org. "It's difficult to prove the origins of this day as over two dozen towns and cities lay claim to be the birthplace. In May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson stepped in and officially declared Waterloo N.Y. the birthplace of Memorial Day.

"Regardless of the location of origins or the exact date, one thing is crystal clear — Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War (which ended in 1865) and a desire to honor our dead. On the 5th of May in 1868, General John Logan who was the national commander of the Grand Army of the republic, officially proclaimed it in his General Order No. 11."

With a staging area just north of the intersection of Main and Market Streets, the parade headed west to the New Paris Cemetery. There, following the raising of the flag, an invocation the singing of the Star Spangled Banner and other commemorations, Indiana Congressman Rudy Yakym delivered the keynote address, his first since being elected as representative of Indiana's 2nd Congressional District in the aftermath of the death of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski last August.

"It's exciting for me to be here, and an honor for me to be here, to represent our fallen soldiers," Yakym said.

For coverage of Monday's Memorial Day events in Goshen, follow our print edition or follow us online at goshennews.com.

Steve Wilson is news editor for The Goshen News. You can reach him at steve.wilson@goshennews.com.