Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 29, 1990 TAG: 9005290007
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fallen veterans were honored nationwide on Monday, and in Maryland a statue remembering U.S. military victims of terrorism was unveiled.
The less somber side of the holiday that heralds the unofficial start of the summer season was celebrated with parades and family get-togethers.
President Bush reviewed a colorful parade of fire engines, school bands and a veterans' brigade in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Bush, basking in sunshine and surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren, called the Memorial Day festivities a "little piece of Americana."
At Arlington National Cemetery, Vice President Dan Quayle participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Gloomy weather forecasts in the Northeast evaporated Sunday, sending hordes to the beach. Sunny skies prevailed Monday as well.
The Pacific storm that dumped an inch of rain on Los Angeles by Monday morning forced a downtown highway closure and was blamed for two roadway deaths.
In Timonium, Md., the families of 11 Maryland veterans killed by terrorism joined a crowd of 200 at the dedication of the Children of Liberty Memorial.
"They are victims of an undeclared war," said Maryland National Guard Maj. Gen. James F. Fretterd.
Mary Ervin's son, Ulysses G. Parker, was killed in the Oct. 23, 1983, bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut.
"It seemed like such a waste for them to have been where they were and not able to protect themselves. It was just plain murder," she said.
The memorial features a 12-foot bronze and granite statue of a woman's hands holding a folded American flag to her chest.
It is inscribed with the names of nine Maryland residents who died in the Beirut attack, one killed during the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in Beirut and one who died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
"It is important that we recognize them and give them the same kind of salute as those who have fought in wars," said retired Col. Timothy Geraghty, the commanding officer at the time of the barrack bombing.
In Illinois, ceremonies honored war dead while mourners in Breese planned a service today for five high school girls who added to the holiday weekend roadway death toll.
The girls, all sophomores at Breese Central High School, were killed along with a 47-year-old woman in a two-vehicle crash Saturday.
"It wasn't a big class, maybe 100 kids, and 5 percent of them have just been killed," said Breese Central health teacher Dick Garrett.
In Davie, Fla., a 7-year-old girl riding in a Memorial Day parade was fatally crushed when her horse fell, police spokeswoman Leslie Richart said.
by CNB