Photo By Master Sgt. Blair Heusdens | Sailors unfold an American flag in preparation for the raising of the colors at Cuzco...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — They come from different countries, their deaths spanning the more than 100 years since the first U.S. presence at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. They were U.S. service members, Cubans, exiles from other countries, workers who supported base operations and babies of those stationed here. Each grave marker at Guantanamo Bay's Cuzco Cemetery has a unique story, many long forgotten except by those left behind.
Each year on one day — Memorial Day — the otherwise undisturbed cemetery is open to the public for a chance to remember those buried there and all of those who've died in service to their country.
Service members from Joint Task Force Guantanamo and U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay gathered in the early morning, May 25, to honor the sacrifices of service members past and present who've given their lives in support of freedom.
Memorial Day is historically observed on the last Monday in May to commemorate those who died while in military service. The holiday was originally enacted to honor Union Soldiers after the American Civil War but was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any U.S. military conflict.
The National Moment of Remembrance was established by Congress in 2000, asking that at 3:00 p.m. local time, all Americans "voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps'."
The poem, "In Flanders Fields," written during World War I by Canadian physician and officer, John McCrae, inspired the selling of poppies to fund veterans associations and projects and is often read in Allied countries to commemorate Memorial Day, otherwise known as Decoration Day. The poppy is also a common symbol of Memorial Day in many countries.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Guantanamo Bay is steeped in history due to its strategic location in the Caribbean. The first American casualties here occurred during the 1898 invasion of Guantanamo Bay during the Spanish-American War. On June 6, the U.S. cruiser Marblehead, captained by Commander B.H. McCalla and an auxiliary ship, the St. Louis, moved into Guantanamo Bay. U.S. Marines established a camp here and, together with Cuban forces, defended the camp from the Spanish. Six Americans were killed at this time: Pvt. William Dumphy, Pvt. James McColgan, Assistant Surgeon John Blair Gibbs, Sgt. Charles H. Smith, Sgt. Maj. Henry Good and Pvt. Goode Taurman, becoming the first U.S. casualties of the war. The base at Guantanamo Bay was used throughout the war and, five years later, in 1903, was acquired by the U.S. through a formalized lease agreement.
Cuzco Cemetery holds many of the keys to the base's rich history and continues to be a place where those who have supported its operations are laid to rest. The cemetery is maintained by the Sailors at Guantanamo Bay's naval hospital so the medical personnel who watched over their patients in life can continue to care for them after they've gone.
A slow rain kept the mood somber as those gathered left through the gates, leaving behind the gravestones of those whose final resting place lies on an island where battles were fought and history was made.
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2009 09:12 |
| Story ID: | 34700 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 209 |
| Downloads: | 157 |
This work, Honoring the fallen, by MSG Blair Heusdens, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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