The Poppy as the memorial flower for American war dead is a tradition which began in the years following the first world war.  Veterans returning to their homes in this country remembered the wild poppies which lined the devastated battlefields of France and Flanders, and the soldiers of all nations came to look upon this flower as a living symbol of their dead comrades' sacrifice.  A Canadian officer, Colonel John McCrae, immortalized the flower in his famous poem, "In Flanders' Fields".

Returning servicemen brought with them memories of the battlefield poppies, and the flower soon took on a sacred significance.  The poppy soon became a symbol of honoring the dead and assisting the living victims of war.

Courtesy http://vfwne.com/

Soon after the armistice, patriotic organizations in different countries began conducting poppy sales.  The flowers, made by disabled servicemen, raised funds for relief work among handicapped veterans and their families.  Wearing a poppy came to mean honor the dead and help the living.

(Information source:  The American Legion Auxiliary National Headquarters/Poppy Program)

Reminder.. this year's Memorial Day service in Montague will be starting at eleven o'clock this morning. It is being held by the Municipal building, at our township's memorial to all servicemen, located on Clove Rd. 

A Memorial Day service will be presented by 

the Cub Scouts of Montague at the Town Hall on Clove Rd.

Monday morning, May 25th, at 11 am.

Please note the change from previous year's time!

In case you only think of it as a 3 day weekend...

Following the end of the Civil War, May 30th was set aside as "Decoration Day" -- a day to decorate veterans' graves with flowers. That date, May 30, may have been the selected because throughout the country flowers would be in bloom.

Thus, Memorial Day is more than just a long weekend marking the unofficial start of summer.

After World War I, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all wars.
It has therefore been an official national holiday for over 40 years aimed at remembering those who served in the armed forces.

In 1971, Memorial Day was officially declared a national holiday and changed by placing it on the last Monday in May.

In December 2000, Congress passed The National Moment of Remembrance Act and it was signed into law by the President.
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause, wherever they find themselves at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day, for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

While driving by area cemeteries, note fresh flags now mark the gravesites of all those who served. Whisper them a "Thank You!"

Montague's Gold Stars  WW2:

Irvine Robert De Remer, Jr. was born 18 February 1920 in Fruita, Mesa County, Colorado, the son of Irvine R. and Bertha Savercool De Remer. He had one sister, Mary. He and his family moved to Matamoras, Pike County, Pennsylvania sometime between 1930 and 1935; Irvine graduated with the Matamoras High School Class of 1938. The 1940 census has his occupation as busboy in a hotel; the family lived on Route 393 in Westfall Township, Pike County, which is now called the Old Milford Road.

Irvine enlisted in the U.S. Army on 24 February 1942 in Milford, Pike County, Pennsylvania; his occupation at that time was listed as teacher of primary school and kindergarten. His obituary says he attended Susquehanna University at Selinsgrove, Snyder County, Pennsylvania. He was assigned to the 434th Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the 7thArmored Division.

It appears Irvine first went to Fort George G. Meade in Maryland; he may have been sent from there to Camp Polk, Louisiana for maneuvers. The 7th Armored Division, including the 434th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia for eight months before being sent to Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts to prepare to board ship to Europe. They left from New York Harbor on 7 June 1944 bound for England, arriving in Firth of Clude, Scotland then transported to Tidworth Barracks in England. “The battalion began a program of physical conditioning, aircraft identification …” in preparation for their emergence into battle.

[It is about this time his parents acquired property in Montague, on River Rd. alongside Shimer's Brook - which became known as Millbrook Farm.]

They arrived at Utah Beach in Normandy, and assembled just south of Vesley, France by 12 August 1944. They were given orders to march north and east. Through small hamlets, and larger villages they marched; sometimes resistance was heavy and other times very light, but town by town they continued their march. From 10 September to 25 September it was reported that the Division encountered heavy fighting, with every foot of ground a contested fight. Sometime during that time Corporal De Remer was killed; the official date is 20 September, but the actual date is unknown because of the intense fighting. It appears the last day he was known to be alive was 11 September near Le Chene, France. He was one of twelve boys from the 434th Armored Field Artillery Battalion to lose his life.

Corporal Irvine Robert DeRemer Junior was laid to rest in Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, France.

Information came from the 1940 census, and the “Records of Operation of the 434th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Armored Division,” plus the 14 November 1944 issue of the Union-Gazette.

Write-up courtesy Nancy Vocci - Matamoras, PA

Also

Courtesy of a post by Lyle Irwin on Findagrave

Killed in action in France in 1944, he was buried there and later re-interred in Pine Grove cemetery, PA.

Courtesy  of   Findagrave


Also 

Staff Sgt. Albert Jones

Served on a Superfortess of a Bomber group and was reported as Missing In Action.
Montague resident and graduate of Port Jervis H.S.