Today, Memorial Day, is observed all across the country with picnics, parades, and families gathering together to celebrate the official start of summer. But many have forgotton or were never taught the reason for this holiday. Indulge me as I give a history lesson, so that you may better appreciate the day…
The origins of Memorial Day date back to the end of the Civil War. At first, it was a day observed by many towns individually, to honor Union soldiers in the North, towns like Boalsburg, PA, Carbondale, IL, many towns in Vermont, and some towns , like Charleston, SC, Richmond in the South to honor their Confederate war dead. At the time, it was called Decoration Day for the Union North, a day to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead, with separate Confederate Memorial Days observed.
General John A. Logan, the leader of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former soldiers and sailors, was impressed with the way organized groups of woman in the South decorated the graves of their dead even before the Civil War ended, and decided that like the ancient Greeks, the war dead should be honored with flowers. On May 5th, 1868, he issued General Order # 11, stating;
The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lay in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
He envisioned a national holiday to put aside division and focus on reconciliation. On May 30th of 1868, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery and 5,000 people helped decorate the 20,000 Union and Confederate graves there.
By 1890, all the northern states recognized the day, but the South had separate Confederate Memorial days until after WWI.
At the time of WWI, the day morphed into honoring the dead from all wars, making Memorial Day more acceptable to the South.
Many towns claimed to be the first to observe the day but in 1966, LBJ declared Waterloo, N.Y. as the official birthplace, due to the dedication they showed by holding to the holiday every single year since 1866 on May 5th, community-wide, closing shops, and decorating the graves.
Decoration Day was traditionally observed on May 30th, the date originally chosen by General Logan, because it was not the anniversary of any battle. In 1971, Congress declared that the last Monday in May would be called Memorial Day, and would honor the dead from all wars.
It came to be called the alternate name; Memorial Day first in 1882, and becoming more popular after WWII, and was declared officially by that name in 1967.
Red poppies are the unofficial flower-symbol for Memorial Day, derived from the poem by Moina Michael, written in 1915, who, inspired by “In Flanders Fields” wrote;
We cherish too, The Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
It is customary for the President or V.P. to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Another tradition is to raise the flag to half-staff from dawn until noon, local time and to place flags on all graves in all National Cemeteries.
Since the late 1950’s, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, flags are placed on all 260,000 graves at Arlington by the 1,200 members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry and they then patrol 24 hours a day over the weekend to ensure every flag remains upright.
The Indianapolis 500 has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.
Picnics developed from the celebrations in Charleston of freed slaves in the South after the Civil War. Towns developed traditions of parades as a way to publicly celebrate the day, and in some traditions, fire and police who died in the service of the community are also honored.
In 2000, Congress passed a resolution for everyone to voluntarily observe a moment of silence or listen to a playing of Taps at 3:00 PM local time, as a way to remind people of the true meaning of the day, to honor men and woman who have died in military service to their country, by visiting the cemetery.
So, today, take a moment, between the hotdogs and the beer, to remember that if not for all those young people, who gave the “last full measure of devotion” doing the simple duty they felt compelled to do, we might well be living today under tyranny, that they fought to free us and protect us from slavery, from fascism, from communism, and now radical Islamic fascism, that the freedom we enjoy today was paid for, in full, by their blood. Our part is to remember them. You may not have asked for their sacrifice, but you cannot deny that you reap the benefit of it, and the simple and human thing to do is to remember and be thankful, that because they did what they did, you are free to spend the day in peace and freedom. Freedom is not free. It was not free, someone paid dearly for it. Honor them.
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