Like the distant echoes of guns firing a salute, the memories of much of my youth are fading. And yet, I clearly remember gathering around the flagpole for Memorial Day ceremonies at McKinley School. Our principal, Mr (Willis) Powell would solemnly read “In Flanders Fields”, as we kids stood listening quietly…

It may just be me, but Memorial Day doesn’t seem to have the same solemnity now, as it did when I was growing up. Moving Memorial Day in 1971 from the 30th of May to the fourth Monday in May, took away some of the recognition and purpose of the day. Maybe the tumult of the Vietnam war changed how people thought in general about war and our dead. Or maybe it’s just a different time and place now, and for better or worse, this is who we have become.

Today, Memorial Day, like Labor Day, President’s Day, and Martin Luther King’s Birthday is just one more three day weekend – an extra day off, or a chance to leave town. On Facebook, we post pictures of dead family members who served in the service. We remember to think about and thank our veterans. Do we think about why we have this most sacred of holidays?

It wasn’t always this way. During my youth in the early 1960s, I remember somber ceremonies for Memorial Day at McKinley Grade School and in the town of Ottawa, Illinois. Mr. Powell, my grade school principal was key for both events.

If you went to McKinley, activities took place on, or about, the 29th of May, the school day closest to Memorial Day. We kids walked in a column of twos, from our classrooms to the flagpole outside the school. There, we formed a U around the pole. Mr. Powell, started the proceedings with a few words, and then Boy Scouts from the school raised the flag, before slowly lowering it to half mast. With hands over our hearts, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and sang either The Star Spangled Banner or America the Beautiful. A student would recite a poem or say a few words. My friend Lynne remembers doing this as a fifth grader, although she has long forgotten the words she spoke. Mr. Powell might then recognize student’s family members who were in the service and away from home. Finally, and most clearly, he recited “In Flanders Field”, the WWI poem by John McCrae. To this day, Mr. Powell’s reading of the poem has stayed with me. In my mind, I can still hear his melodious, yet deliberate reading of McCrae’s words.

At the end of the ceremony, taps was played by one of the students, including my buddy Tim one year. Afterwards, we walked quietly back to our classrooms. There was no doubt about the solemnity of the day, and it left our young minds with much to think about.

The next day, Memorial Day itself, Ottawa held a parade and ceremony downtown. The event was organized by the Ottawa Memorial Association, of which Mr Powell was a key member. The children from each of Ottawa’s grade schools formed up by school near the Courthouse. Every child was given a small American flag to carry, although my youngest sister, Tanya, also found it useful for poking her older sister in the butt. At 10AM, with the OHS band playing patriotic music, we marched down Columbus street to Washington Park in the center of town. There, we gathered around the Civil War Memorial, each school group in its assigned place.

Following the Pledge, we heard music and speeches from local dignitaries. A child from each school would lay a wreath at the base of the Memorial. Finally, a member of the VFW, or American Legion, read the names of those veterans from the Ottawa area who died the previous year. As he finished, an honor guard fired a twenty one gun salute, followed by a trumpet player from the OHS band playing taps, with another band member echoing in the distance. The ceremony ended at 11, and as people were leaving the park, either by plan, or by happenstance, the bells in the nearby churches were ringing. Garth Powell, Mr. Powell’s son recently said to me, “We all left the park in silence. It was quite a solemn occasion, as it was meant to be.”

It wasn’t by accident that Willis Powell was a key player in both of these events. He was born on October 10th, 1919, a little less than a year after the end of “The Great War”. The First World War was known as “The war to end all wars”, but of course it didn’t. Willis was called up in 1942 at the age of twenty two, and served in the Army for the duration of WWII. After the war, he used the GI Bill to complete his degree. He taught at both Jefferson and McKinley Schools in Ottawa, eventually becoming the full time Principal of McKinley in 1957. He also continued with his military service in the Army Reserves.

He was a patriotic man, and passionate about impressing on both adults and school children the importance of Memorial Day – Not to thank those who served (Veteran’s Day), rather to honor those who gave “their last full measure” while serving our country. The result was the program at McKinley, and his leadership with the Ottawa Memorial Association, a group formed to ensure all citizens understood freedom came at a price. You could almost say he made it his mission to ensure we all knew and understood the importance of Memorial Day.

Mr Powell retired as a Colonel in the Army Reserves in 1980 and retired from McKinley School later that same year. In January, 2004, he passed away. In writing this blog, I spoke and texted with many of his former teachers and students. I can tell you he was universally respected, and left a lasting impression with all. While many different memories were shared about him, all remembered the Memorial Day ceremonies at McKinley or the parade downtown.

As Memorial Day approaches, we typically see veterans, or others, selling small red crepe paper poppies outside of stores, or on street corners. Millions of these poppies are distributed across the country in exchange for donations that assist disabled and hospitalized veterans. I typically buy a few of them over the course of the weekend. And while I think of those who died in the service of our country, I inevitably think back to Mr. Powell reciting “In Flanders Fields” at McKinley School. I recall a man who made a difference in many kid’s lives, including mine. From this former soldier’s perspective, he accomplished his mission.

Addendum:

• The Ottawa Memorial Association continues to sponsor Memorial Day and Veterans Day activities in Ottawa. This year’s events are canceled due to the CoronaVirus. The photo above is from last year’s ceremonies, and courtesy of my niece, Ann McCambridge. You can learn more about the Association at: https://ottawamemorial.com/home .

• “In Flanders Fields” was written during WWI by Canadian LTC (and doctor) John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of a friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. Later, the war wore McCrae down and he contracted pneumonia and came down with cerebral meningitis. On January 28, 1918, he died and was buried in France.

• There were many other memories of Mr Powell from his students and teachers at McKinley. Everyone remembered he wore bow ties, which were hand tied for the most part. There were memories of other events, including Veterans Day ceremonies, the Christmas singing program and tree in the gym, and tree give aways for Arbor Day. Two former students had memories of a special ceremony when a student’s father died in Vietnam. As my friend Marsali, who later became a teacher said “Such good memories from McKinley, especially Mr. Powell. I wish all principals and admins could take lessons from a guy like him”.

• Thanks to: my sisters, Roberta and Tanya; my niece Ann McCambridge; fellow students Lynne Galley Robinson, Howard Johnson, Tim Stouffer, Joy Starjack and Marsali Classon; and teachers Charlean Grobe, Jean Mikus, and Dona Ostermeyer. All contributed memories of Mr Powell, or the activities surrounding Memorial Day at McKinley School, and in Ottawa.

• Special thanks to Garth Powell for personal information about his father, Mr. Willis Powell, and his recollections of Memorial Day ceremonies in downtown Ottawa.