Gonzales County will honor its war dead during a Memorial Day service on Monday, May 31 starting at 8 a.m. at Texas Heroes Square, on St. Joseph St. between St. Lawrence and St. Louis streets.

The ceremony will include the reading of the names of Gonzales County soldiers who died in service to their country, the playing of taps, and the lowering of flags to half-staff.

The Gonzales Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4817 and the American Legion Post 40 will conduct a flag-lowering ceremony at 9 a.m. at the VFW Hall, 3302 Harwood Road.

Beginning at 11 a.m., VFW and American Legion posts will host a fish fry at the VFW Hall. The meals are served only via drive-thru service and cost $10 per plate. Plates will be sold until 2 p.m., or until sold out.

About Memorial Day

Memorial Day’s roots date back to the post-Civil War Decoration Day in 1868. Graves of the war dead were decorated with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

According to the Veteran’s Administration, the first large observance – attended by 5,000 people – was held in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

By the end of the 19th century, the VA reports, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities.

It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May.

Gonzales County’s

War dead

The names to be read at the 8 a.m. ceremony are:

• Spanish-American War: J. Knox Green, William Edward Bunton.

• World War I: Frank Maloch, Milton J. Brice, John A. Kalinac, Bryan J. Robinson, John Edgar Freeman, Dr. Walter A. Schlick, John Abner Bartlett,Ferdinand F. Quitta,Abern Jones Partain, Cleburne H. Foster, Arthur A. Caraway, Thomas R. Hopkins, Gustavus Robinson, Ross Holmes Alley, Robert A. Davis, Alfred G. Tieken, Frank Brelsford, Robert F. Brown, George R. Ryan, Alfred W. Reed, Rufus Gillespie, Lacy R. Langley, Alva Rutledge, Walter F. Reuter, Steve Darnak, Wells Meyers, Arnie (Ollie) Mahan, Theafield Dylla, M. Phillipus, Pleas Weber, Henry Drake, Doran Verno, George Cook, Arthur Pinn, Willie Leck, Jesse J. Long, Henry Numa Keck, Alvin Tolle, Willie and/or Daniel L. Ham, Dan Wiley, Ben A. Ehrig, Otto Cook, Willie Hill, Guy Goss, Winston D Bower, Paublito Castenado, Joe Collins, Alfred Jurgens, Robert A. Soefje, John E. Wiley.

• World War II: Lester A. Bailey, Joy V. Baker, Edmund W. Bielefeld, John B. Blackmon, Laval D. Brown, Jr., Paulie C. Buss, Glenn E. Campbell, Leslie M. Caraway, James R. Collins, Clyde C. Crozier, Earl Daniels, Felix Delgado, Horace K. Duncan, Raymond H. Ehrig, Robert C. Farmer, Frank U. Flores, Martin P. Garcia, Guy D. Glass, C. P. Goodwin, Jr., J. J. Halliburton, Harper W. Harris, James A. M. Helms, Clyde S. Henley, Arthur W. Hunter, Lynwood Logan, Henry W. Malatek, Frank G. Martin, Felipe C. Martinez, Victor I. May, Braxton McKinney, Quillian H. McMichen, James L. Miller, Chester R. Nagel, James E. Newberry, Jr., Henry P. Olivarez, David K. Ollre, Boyce Penrod, Jr., Joseph N. Phelps, Elidio A. Quintero, Robert S. Rentz, John B. Rightmer, Chester T. Robinson, Vidal M. Salaz, Louie Schellenberg, James H. Scholl, Wayne Patterson, Roy L. Mudd, Edward H. Sellers, Martin J. Sessions, Horace L. Sherry, Cruz Soto, Juan Soto, Carl E. Spieckerman, M. M. Spieckerman, Henry J. Stehle, Jack K. Swearingen, Juan H. Tovar, Lee C. Trevino, Ignacio G. Vasquez, Joe M. Velasquez, Charlie J. Vlasak, Louis F. Wagner, Calvin W. Warren, Ferd West, John H. Steemer, Loye J. Lauraine, Jr., Humbert Martinez Galindo, David Pruett Mahan, Jack W. Mang, Huey Irvin Mercer, Charles Darnell Parker, James Wayne Patteson, Fred Henry Hoermann.

• Korean War: None known at this time.

• Vietnam War: Robert Franklin Asher, Billy Ray Baker, Carl Eugene Bolden, Thomas Dudley Chenault, Louis L. Schautteet, Jr., David Ray Tomas, Jimmie Tuch.