OCR Text |
Show Few Survivors of Men Who Marched in Youth's Vigor Sixty-seven years ago a valiant and victorious army marched In the heyday hey-day of Its youth along the broad stretches of Pennsylvania avenue in Washington. That was the beginning of the Grand Army of the Republic. Following the fall of Richmond and Lee's surrender at Appomattox the victors came to the Capital of the Nation, there to be reviewed by the President of the United States, John J. Daly writes, in the Washington Post. Figures vary as to the number of men who marched In that historic parade a procession that took fully three days in the passing, according to some who witnessed it. Others say the parade was over In a day, that stragglers came into town the day after the parade and carried on the march a gathering of uniformed men that undoubtedly numbered somewhere near 50,000. Men? They were boys, most of them, and they marched with a song on their Hps a certain satisfaction in their souls. After this demonstration demonstra-tion they did what most returning warriors have done from time immemorial im-memorial turned their attention to the pursuits of peace, to the prosaic tasks of "making a living." Now, 67 years after that celebrated cele-brated parade in Washington, the survivors of that grand old army gather in little groups throughout the land to make preparations for the proper observance of Memorial day Decoration day, as some call It. They are going out to the federal cemeteries that dot the land here, there, and place flags and flowers on the resting places of their comrades. The two great ceremonies are at Gettysburg, Pa., and at the National Memorial cemetery at Arlington, Va. At Gettysburg, the' President of the United States delivers the principal prin-cipal address. At Arlington, Va., where rest In one grave more than 2,000 unknown soldiers sol-diers of the Civil war Confederate and Union the ceremonies are in charge of the Department of the Potomac, Po-tomac, a branch of the Grand Army of the Republic that has numbered amongst its ranks the great and outstanding out-standing names of Union soldiery. Sixty-seven years ago they were young men, boys in the prime of life and now they totter into their meeting halls to recall those glorious days of old ; when they were the heroes of the hour. So few remain, it Is not easy to visualize what the immutable workings work-ings of time have done to the G. A. R. Bodies bent and broken, that old spirit still survives and will, too, till the last man only remains; to turn out, some day, all by himself, and lay a wreath and hoist the flag over all his dead comrades. |