Editor’s Note: Memorial Day is a day of flags and remembrance established after the Civil War, where some 620,000 men died, more than in any other American war in history. The battle at Gettysburg is probably one of the most poignant symbols of that war.
The Soldiers’ Memorial Fountain at Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs was rededicated Friday afternoon in ceremonies celebrating the completion of an ambitious two-year restoration project.
Bagpipes, played by Tony Peak, began in the distance and came nearer as the Massachusetts 54th re-enactors and members of American Legion Post 257 marched to the foot of the memorial.
Clouds began to roll in, blocking the splendor of the sun but not the glory of the celebration.
For the sheep grazing in pastures above Vineyard Sound, the patches of weathered canvas beating toward Holmes Hole were barely worth a glance away from meals of September grass. Farmers, townspeople and public officials, however, greeted the approach of some four dozen English-flagged vessels with a bit more alarm.
