Media Information
MG Charles E. Gorton to deliver remarks
at Memorial Day Observance at The Lexington Cemetery
05/23/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WED 23 MAY 2007
CONTACT: Kim Wade
BAKER COMMUNICATIONS
859-245-1100
MG Charles E. Gorton to deliver remarks
at Memorial Day Observance at The Lexington Cemetery
The last Monday in May is set aside to remember those men and women who died in military service to their country. Lexington's official observance ceremony will be held at The Lexington National Cemetery, located just inside the front gates of The Lexington Cemetery. The service, which begins at 11 a.m. on MON 28 MAY 2007, will feature remarks by MG Charles Gorton USAR, the presentation of colors, playing of "Taps," and a 21-gun salute. Participating will be the men and women of American Legion Man O' War Post No. 8 and its Ladies Auxiliary. Please join us in remembering and saluting those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
FEATURED SPEAKER
MAJOR GENERAL CHARLES E. GORTON
COMMANDER, 81st Regional Readiness Sustainment Command
Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Major General Charles E. Gorton was commissioned a Second Lieutenant from the University of Kentucky in 1970 after graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. Upon graduation from the Infantry Officer Basic Course, he served on active duty for eight years.
Major General Gorton began his Army career on active duty in 1970 and has served as a Mechanized Platoon Leader, Battalion S-1, Assistant Division Equal Opportunity Officer, Commander for Combat Support Company, and Chief for the Race Relations Coordinating Office, United States Army Infantry Center.
Major General Gorton began his Army Reserve career in 1978 and has served as a Squadron Adjutant, a Training Company Commander, a Battalion S-3, a Command and General Staff College Instructor, a Training Battalion Commander, Assistant Chief of Staff, Resource Management, 100th Division (Institutional Training), and subsequently Deputy Chief of Staff, Information Management. He then served as Commander, 6th Brigade (Exercise), 85th Division (Training Support), Indianapolis, IN. Following Brigade Command, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff, Information Management, 85th Division, Arlington Heights, IL. He then served as the Assistant Division Commander, 100th Division (Institutional Training). In September 2002, he became Commander, 84th Division (Institutional Training), Milwaukee, WI, which became the 84th United States Army Reserve Readiness Training Command, Fort McCoy, WI in October 2004. He became Commander, 81st Regional Readiness Sustainment Command in September 2006.
His military schools include attending the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Course; Armor Officer Advanced Course; United States Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration Degree from Georgia State University.
His decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Expert Infantry Badge, Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab and German Armed Forces Efficiency Badge, Bronze.
Major General Gorton and his family reside in Lexington, Kentucky. He is married to Linda Gorton who is a City Council Member in Lexington and a Registered Nurse.
The history of The Lexington National Cemetery as a final resting place for war dead dates back to the Civil War.
During the war itself and in its aftermath, The Lexington Cemetery Company maintained a position of neutrality amidst the deep division the war created among Lexington families who had relatives on both sides. Sympathizers of both the Confederacy and the Union owned lots in the cemetery, which chose to honor the commitments of lot owners without regard to politics.
Land was set aside in 1861 in Section N for "Soldiers' Ground" for the burial of Union dead, with a corresponding Confederate lot for the burial of Southerners who perished in the war. Records indicate that between October 1861 and July 1865, a total of 965 Union soldiers and 102 Confederate soldiers were buried there.
When the war ended, the cemetery donated the Union lot to the United States government, which purchased an adjoining 16,111 square feet on July 1, 1867. This led to the site being designated as The Lexington National Cemetery. Over the years, soldiers from several other wars were interred until the lots were filled in 1932.
When the government decided not to purchase additional land, The Lexington Cemetery set aside a lot next to The Lexington National Cemetery and designated it a section for veterans section. Space in this newer section can be purchased for burial of eligible men and women-and lots remain available today for those veterans.
MEMORIAL DAY DEFINED
Memorial Day is an official holiday in all states except Louisiana and is specifically designated to honor those who paid "the ultimate sacrifice" while serving in the armed forces. Congress declared it an official holiday for federal employees in 1971, to be observed annually on the last Monday in May.
However, Memorial Day observances stretch back to the Civil War. It was during that period that families and organizations began to have annual recognition of Union and Confederate war dead by decorating their graves. The day is still often referred to informally as "Decoration Day."
There are several places that claim originating the custom of placing flowers (and later flags) on the graves of war dead-among them Waterloo, NY, on May 5, 1866. It was not until after World War I that the custom began to be extended to pay remembrance to deceased relatives and friends, both military and civilian, as well.
The national observance is marked officially by the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
