Soldiers & Sailors Hall Holds Memorial Day Festivities
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Young re-enactors portraying the Colored Troops Fife and Drum Corps are among the many individuals who took part in Memorial Day festivities at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in Oakland.
The all-day event was a patriotic smorgasbord of food, fun and costumes.
Click here for more photos from Memorial Day observances around the region.
Kids matched wits and speed in an inflatable obstacle course, while others took turns making their own bracelets of red, white and blue.
Visitors were also invited to cool off inside, where military history is encased in glass.
"It started as a day called Decoration Day," announced Memorial curator Michael Kraus, dressed in the garb of a Union Civil War captain.
"We think of it as the beginning of summer, but we always have to remember that Memorial Day is in memoriam to those who have fallen, and it started right after the Civil War," he added.
It appeared that those who turned out for the special day were all aware of the reason they were invited.
"It's about veterans who risked their lives to fight for America," a young girl stated.
A woman, whose husband is a Soldiers and Sailors docent, summed it up. "It's not just about picnics. It's about heroism."
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