Community members gathered at Riverside Cemetery on Monday for a Memorial Day Service hosted by the Hopkinsville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1913 honoring service members who died in the line of duty.
Colonel Bobby Freeman, a retired Army member, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. Freeman was born in Trigg County and was raised in Hopkinsville. Freeman was the Garrison Commander at Fort Campbell and served in Korea, Vietnam and Nepal.
Freeman called Riverside Cemetery a special place and shared that he grew up right across the street, often playing at the cemetery as a child.
Freeman went on to spotlight the history of Memorial Day. He says the first observance of what would later be called Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868, and was known as Decoration Day, honoring the Union soldiers who died in the Civil War.
Following the establishment of Decoration Day, Freeman says many local celebrations started in May to honor the sacrifices of service members. However, he says Mary Ann Williams is credited with initiating Memorial Day.
Later in the morning, the VFW hosted a Memorial Day service at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West.
