World War II veteran Herb Foster of Edgartown was dressed in his infantry uniform. Ashlee Moreis, 10, and Julia Felix, 10, of Vineyard Haven, had pulled their Girl Scout vests over their T-shirts. All three made their way to American Legion Post 257 in Vineyard Haven yesterday morning, where soldiers and Scouts alike met to march in the annual Martha’s Vineyard Memorial Day parade.

Brazilian-American students graduating from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School this month have been refused permission to wear scarves in the color of the Brazilian flag over their gowns at the graduation ceremony.

Several weeks ago, a group of some 10 Brazilian students wrote to the school administration asking to wear scarves in green, yellow and blue to honor their ethnic heritage. The students recently were notified that their request had been denied.

We’re getting close to D-Day now. A couple of days away. You can tell. These big C47s, these transport planes, were out on the airstrip. And all of a sudden one day on the sides of the planes appeared big white crosses. I guess that was to help our own fighters identify them. It was clear that something was going on.

The password for that drop was George Washington. If you heard a rustling and you didn’t know who was there you would say “George,” and if you received the password “Washington,” then you knew it was your own troopers.

They were Islanders and they served their country in World War II, in all branches of the armed forces, men and women, most of them barely beyond their teens. This weekend the Martha’s Vineyard Museum opens the second part of an ongoing exhibit that features among other things a powerful collection of oral histories from Vineyarders who served in World War II.

Since 1965, Stan Hart and I have been neighbors on Abel’s Hill, coming together for countless hours of socializing, beach time, conversation — and especially tennis. We played as partners and opponents, mostly doubles but we would play singles if we couldn’t get four for doubles.

Stan’s tennis was as close as anything to being a metaphor for his life. If his tennis was good, and he was on a winning streak — life was good. And the opposite was also true.

With Memorial Day ap proaching, I am recalling a visit to Viet Nam last fall on which two U.S. Navy veterans of the war in Viet Nam were among my companions. As we visited city and countryside, we met Vietnamese veterans on street corners and in rice fields. Amazingly, bygones seemed to be bygones among veterans on both sides. Though the war is keenly remembered — particularly by those who have been affected by the Agent Orange that we dropped in the war — stoic acceptance appeared to be the norm.

An Island to Call Home

From a 1985 Gazette article by Janet Bosworth:

One stormy night in May 1888, the schooner Onrust in ballast, bound from Fall River for Calais, brought up hard and fast on Schooner Reef, on the shore of Cuttyhunk. All aboard were rescued by the Cuttyhunk members of the Massachusetts Humane Society. The next day, the second mate, Tom Jones, looked around at the island, liked what he saw and decided to remain.

Editor’s Note: Some stories just have to be written down. Such is the case with Edo Potter’s story of life at Pimpneymouse Farm on Chappaquiddick that began for her nearly 80 years ago at the age of four, and continues today. The Last Farm on Chappaquiddick is at once a memoir, history book and chronicle of a changing island. Written by Mrs. Potter and published by Vineyard Stories, the book will be on sale at Edgartown Books, Bunch of Grapes, in Island stores and through the Vineyard Stories Web site (vineyardstories.com).

BAIT AND SWITCH

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

On May 10, 2010, National Grid filed its request with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities for approval of two agreements with Cape Wind. The per kilowatt hour cost proposed by National Grid is 20.7 cents escalating at 3.5 per cent for 15 years, when it will be 33.5 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh).