MEMORIAL DAY : MARYLAND MOMENTS & CONNECTIONS MARYLAND AND THE MILITARY

History has its "moments and connections" : different forms and shapes. For Memorial Day 2007 , our instincts are likely drawn to the troops lost in war : from Gettysburg to Normandy and Vietnam to Iraq, the memories are there. In Maryland, there are connections that come clearly through stories of the 29th Division and other regiments, ships, landings that crossed front lines -- land and sea -- to achieve results for freedom. In some wars, the cause was deemed greater than the risk ; in other, the losses outweighed the benefits. Some examples of both, all of which included Maryland in the battles:

Independence from the "Empire" for 13 colonies during the Revolution ;
Preserving the Union and freeing the slaves after the Civil War ;
Creation of an power-driven Middle East out of World War I 's failure to "make the world safe for democracy"
World War II 's destruction of the madness of Hitler's Nazi world and its murder of 6 million concentration camp victims;
Mixed results of the Korean and Vietnam wars ;
The endless uncertainty and destruction in the Middle East , not lessened by the threats of global terrorism.

MARYLAND AND 3 PRESIDENTS: MORE SUBTLE CONNECTION

But, are there are three Memorial Day connections to Maryland that are less visible than thousands of lost service men and women. While subtle, these connections bear a common thread : the deaths of 3 Presidents, two of them by assassination and one worn down by the burdens of a world war.

The Lincoln assassination and Dr. Samuel Mudd :

A new dramatic story, "Manhunt" tells the story of a 2-week chase to find and finish the life of John Wilkes Booth after the Ford theatre murder of Abraham Lincoln -- a drama that gave the reemerging Union a cloud of tragedy after the Confederate surrender. Samuel Mudd, a physician who lived and practiced in southern Maryland, not only sheltered the escaping Booth but allowed his friendship with the assassin actor to add to Booth's anger and fixation on killing Lincoln.

Franklin Roosevelt's friendship, love affair with Lucy Mercer Rutherford

Maryland was connected with Lucy, a member of the famous Carroll family of Maryland, given historic meaning by its founder and a Signer : Charles Carroll of Carrollton. The Lucy-Franklin relationship travelled form physical love during the 1920's to deeper meaning that became FDR's escape from loneliness brought on by the burdens of war and a distant Eleanor who had become more of policy partner than a wife. FDR's last hours were spent in the company of Lucy at Warm Springs , where she sat with the dying President after commissioning a portrait that evinced sadness and burden.

John Kennedy dedicating a new Maryland highway, enroute to Dallas / November 22.

Finally, John Kennedy and a Maryland new north-south road. On the eve of his November 21st departure for the fateful Dallas end of his life, JFK's last public appearance was at the Maryland -- Delaware line to open new "super highway", to be a then-wide 4 lanes, and today a huge 6 - 8 lane interstate travel route. Before leaving for the airport to Dallas, JFK, cut the ribbon for the new transportation route. And, just a month later, that road was named "The John Kennedy Highway", in memory of the 4th U.S. President killed in the line of duty.

Maryland, a part of the geography for Memorial Day memory of military heroes and 3 Presidents who left their imprint on history.

Labels: Kennedy, Lincoln, Maryland, Memorial Day

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