Memorial day celebrations in Pittsburgh this weekend

Kit Watson hails from a long line of patriots.

Born and raised in…

Kit Watson hails from a long line of patriots.

Born and raised in Carmichaels, Pa., Watson and his mother attended the small town’s Memorial Day parade every year. They would follow the parade to the local cemetery and help clean the veterans’ plots, plant flowers and display wreaths.

Today Watson lives in Harrisburg, but his mother is buried in Pittsburgh’s Monongahela Cemetery, which straddles the river about 30 miles outside the city.

As the country prepares to observe Memorial Day on Monday, Watson says celebrating the holiday is an important part of any American’s civic duties.

“I come from a family of patriots,” Watson said. “We‘ve always held Memorial Day in high regard, to honor all those who sacrificed everything they could. We can‘t forget that during the parades and picnics.”

Watson travels to Pittsburgh every May to visit his mother’s grave.

Walking through the iron and granite gates, Watson and other Memorial Day visitors will come upon the historic Monongahela Cemetery Chapel, bedecked in flowers laid down by Boy Scout volunteers and veterans.

“College students could take a lesson from the Boy Scouts,” Watson said. “We‘ve got an aging veteran population in western Pennsylvania. We need help carrying on these traditions. Memorial Day is a perfect volunteer opportunity.”

Watson has been a member of the American Legion for 32 years, holding multiple positions at district, county, department and national levels.

He joined the U.S. Air Force as a young man and was called to active duty during the Vietnam era, working as a flight control technician on B-52 and KC-135 aircrafts. He retired from the military in 1977.

He now works as a department adjutant in the Legion’s Pennsylvania office. He described the way many veterans feel about Memorial Day, which he said is more of a solemn holiday than many realize.

“When you really think about what they’ve given this country, you can’t help but feel inspired and blessed,” Watson said.

Students interested in volunteering or participating in Memorial Day activities don’t have to travel all the way to the South Hills.

One cemetery in the South Side, considered to have one of the largest sections of buried veterans in the city, has an annual Memorial Day program that brings out more than 100 people.

“It seems like a solemn day, at least in our cemetery,” Judy Ruslonski, who helps run the South Side Cemetery said. “I think people understand that, unlike Veterans Day, Memorial Day is specifically for those who have died protecting this country. People can’t help but to honor that.”

From its lofty position above the Monongahela River, the South Side Cemetery is a sprawling green lawn speckled with trees and spire-like gravestones.

On Monday, visitors will gather at the war monument for a memorial service in honor of those killed this year in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Then, they will move to a grandstand in the veterans section, at which two local choirs — one from The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and the other from the Birmingham United Church of Christ — will perform.

“We‘re going to really stop and think about what they gave us,” Ruslonski said.

Of course, Memorial Day is not only a solemn holiday.

Students who want to enjoy the celebratory side of Memorial Day don’t have to leave campus — a visit to Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall will suffice.

“We don‘t want to forget about the real reason we celebrate this holiday,” Casey Patterson, chief of staff at Soldiers and Sailors said. “But at the same time, we can be sure that those who sacrificed everything didn‘t do it so we would sit around and mourn.”

For that reason, event planners at Soldiers and Sailors have organized a day blending the solemn with the celebratory.

First, visitors will participate in a memorial service honoring fallen American servicemen. Following the memorial will come the first Patrioteer Challenge, which evolved from last year’s Miss Soldiers and Sailors contest.

“We want to give everyone a little taste of the military life,” Patterson said. “With a twist.”

A winner in the challenge will be selected based on three categories: family-friendly patriotic attire, drill exercises and patriotic trivia.

The top performer will take home a $1,000 U.S. savings bond and will be named Mr. or Miss Soldiers and Sailors in the city’s Veterans Day Parade later this summer.

“We’re trying to get students excited about our museum,” Patterson said. “Some kids graduate without ever stepping inside. They sit on our lawn every Saturday, but they never come in. We want that to change.”