The City of Carbondale will host its annual Memorial Day Service at Woodlawn Cemetery on Monday, May 26th at 10:00 AM to honor the individuals who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation.
The service will be led by Mayor Carolin Harvey, with an invocation from Reverend John Annable from the University Baptist Church, and Memorial Day Address by Betsy Brown.
Within the ceremony the Carbondale Fire Department will begin the service by raising the flag, Company C of the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry will perform the rifle salute, General Order 11, and Salute to the Dead, the Carbondale Police Honor Guard will conduct the Colors Advanced, Flag Raising and the National Anthem, and call to assemble and Taps by ceremonial bugler Calvin Scott.
Chairs will be set up for the service, so attendees do not need to bring lawn chairs unless they wish to.
Immediately following the service, there will be a self-guided walking tour through historic Woodlawn Cemetery, marked by brief biographies of some of the notable veterans displayed near their headstones.
Woodlawn Cemetery is known to be the site where the first Memorial Day service was held in Illinois, and possibly in the country, on April 29, 1866. This became a continued tradition, and on May 5 1868, General John A. Logan signed General Order No. 11, setting May 30, 1868 as Memorial Day. By 1888 it became a legal holiday in twelve northern states, and recognized nationwide in years to come. We hold great pride and honor in setting this tradition here in Carbondale, IL and continuing to host it with deep reverence to this day.
Source: “A History of Early Carbondale: Illinois 1852-1905", John W.D. Wright.
