Memorial Day observed in Eugene, with a touch of history

By Tom Adams KVAL News Published: May 25, 2009 at 5:16 PM PST

EUGENE, Ore. - They came to Eugene area cemeteries today to observe a tradition, and to honor the service of America's men and women in uniform, all the way back to the Civil War.

Once upon a time, this holiday had a different name.  It was called Decoration Day, celebrated on May 30th.  It was to honor the lives of the soldiers who died in the Civil War.  That legacy was celebrated again on this day in Eugene.

Grave markers were decorated by "Old Glory", as people paid tribute to U.S. forces who made the ultimate sacrifice, and those in uniform right now in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Whether you approve or disapprove of the cause, they continue to serve us.  Let them not be forgotten." said Jim Walsh, Post #3 commander of the American Legion.

"It's an opportunity to honor the men who have done the same thing.  That's all," says Harold Slavik, a camp commander for the group Sons Of Union Veterans Of The Civil War.

For Slavik, this is very personal business.  The cemetery is the resting place for 140 Civil War vets, including a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Slavik reads the inscription on the side of the headstone, "To Corporal Louis Renninger, Company H, 37Th Ohio volunteers, for gallantry at Vicksburg, May 22, 1863."

This refers to the Union siege at Vicksburg, an important Confederate port along the Mississippi River.  Renninger survived the battle and later moved to Oregon and the Mohawk Valley.

Harold Slavik himself is a Vietnam vet.  His family members have served in past American wars, all the way back to the Civil War.

He tells KVAL, "What we did is we stepped forward when our country said, you need to pay some rent."
 
Rent that has been paid in full, and for Slavik, a family legacy that comes alive every Memorial Day.
  
Slavik says close to 15,000 Civil War veterans, both north and south, are buried in Oregon cemeteries.  A local chapter of the Sons Of Union Veterans Of The Civil War cleaned and restored grave markers of Civil War vets in a special project at the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery about 2 years ago.