THE PRINT EDITION
THURSDAY MAY 26, 2022
VOLUME XIX- ISSUE 74
South Boston’s Memorials by Rick Winterson
M
onday, May 30, is Memorial Day in 2022. The origin of Memorial Day is obscure, and was (perhaps) first celebrated by freed slaves in South Carolina in 1865. Waterloo, New York, was a key stop on the so-called “Underground Railroad” during the Civil War. A year after the Civil War had ended, the women of Waterloo began a custom called Decoration Day – green plants and decorative cut flowers were placed on the graves of Civil War soldiers in the month of May. Later, this became the Memorial Day holiday that we now know and observe nationally. This week, maybe it would be fitting if all of us visited South Boston’s Memorials to those who died in combat. Visit them on foot, if you are able to do so. Begin with the bronze statue of the Civil War’s Rear Admiral Farragut (“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”) at
REAL ACCESS!
Day Boulevard and East Broadway. His 1864 naval victory in Mobile Bay made him a national hero. In no particular order, visit the iconic Fort Independence on Castle Island, a structure that has essentially paralleled all of America’s 400-year history, and is now a massive memorial. Stop by the mournful statue of the Korean War soldier on the Island; read the 20 names of that war’s casualties on the granite marker slab. Visit the World War II Memorial just to the west of Pleasure Bay and the causeway, emplaced there by the members of our own Fitzgerald Post. The 216 names engraved on it are worth more than a casual glance. Immediately across Day Boulevard sits the USS Kearsarge anchor, which was recently funded for a complete renovation. The USS Kearsarge was launched during the Spanish-American War and also saw duty in World War I. The nation’s first Vietnam Memorial is located in Medal
of Honor/M Street Park. It was dedicated in 1983; the 25 names of South Boston casualties on it are still fresh in the memories of many South Boston residents. South Boston’s newest Memorial is located in our Seaport District. The Fallen Heroes Beacon of Honor, a 50-foot obelisk, is sited at the north end of Seaport Common; it is five-sided, in honor of the five branches of U.S. military service. The 272 names list those from Massachusetts who have fallen in the Global War on Terrorism since 9-11. Finally, visit the Monument on Dorchester Heights at sunset, if you can. The tower commemorates Evacuation Day, the British
evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776. This is where it all started. It was George Washington’s very first victory in America’s Revolutionary War – our War for Independence. The Monument looks to the west from the highest natural point in the City of Boston. Sunset views from there are striking, to say the least. South Boston truly values its veterans, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Our memorials testify to this.
“The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great exanple.” Benjamin Disraeli.
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