Monday was the overcast day of the Memorial Day weekend, which made for a fitting backdrop for the solemnity of a ceremony in remembrance of those who gave their lives for this country.

Rep. Camille Vella Wilkinson, who organized the tribute held at the foot of the World War I doughboy statue outside City Hall, noted that unlike Veterans Day that honors all veterans, Memorial Day (first named Decoration Day) was declared a federal holiday in 1868 to honor and mourn all US military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces.

A veteran herself, Vella Wilkinson lamented, “there has been somewhat of a trend to gloss over portions of military history in our country…to rename former holidays and memorials and attempts to erase them from our collective memories.”

She noted that war memorials and commemorations, provide a means to learn about our history and how combat veterans “risked their lives for people they did not know and had never met. When we commemorate battles, it is not to glorify warfare. We are showing respect for those who fought and the hardships they endured.”

She said that since the republic was founded nearly 250 years ago more than 1.3 million US military personnel have given their lives in service to the country.

“This includes men and women of all races, ethnicities, region, sexual orientation and immigrant status. God bless them all for serving,” she said.

In his prayer, Father Robert Marciano, president of Bishop Hendricken High School, pastor of St. Kevin Church and chaplain of the Warwick Police and Fire Departments asked people to remember those “who wore the uniform of this nation and served the cause of freedom with courage and conviction.”

Mayor Frank Picozzi urged at this time of family gatherings and outings that we also honor the caregivers who tended to the injured and we not forget “this is the home of the free because of the brave.”

Following retirement of the colors and dismissal of the color guard, many scanned the names of Warwick World War I veterans listed on brass plaques below the imposing statute before gathering for a group photograph.