For many Memorial Day Weekend signifies the start of summer. However, far too often we forget the true reason for the holiday. Memorial Day is a time to honor those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War, to remember the estimated 620,000 lives lost in the line of duty. Families and friends would decorate graves with flowers, and some would write special poems or remembrances to be recited honoring dear loved ones. In 1868, General John A. Logan, second commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), which was an organization of Union army veterans, proclaimed May 30th to be “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 lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.” He called it “Decoration Day,” and chose that date because it wasn’t the anniversary date of any specific Civil War battle.
On the first Decoration Day, May 30, 1868, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, which was one of 14 national cemeteries established during the Civil War. On that day, 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried at Arlington. Across the country similar ceremonies were held, and by 1890 many states had made that date a state holiday of remembrance.
During World War I, Decoration Day expanded its scope to include the newest casualties who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and over time eventually evolved to honor all American military personnel who died in battle from the American Revolution through today. Following World War II in 1948, troops in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, which is the Army’s official ceremonial unit known as the “Old Guard,” began the tradition of placing small American flags in front of all of the tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery. A ceremony repeated across the country in both national, state, town and private cemeteries by countless dedicated volunteers. It was also in 1948 that the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider began.
The holiday as we know it today began in 1968 when Congress passed the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act,” that changed Decoration Day from May 30th, to the last Monday in May, allowing for a three-day weekend for federal workers. Then in 1971 It was officially renamed Memorial Day, and became the federal holiday that we recognize today.
In 2000, Congress passed the “National Moment of Remembrance Act,” that asks Americans, wherever they are at 3:00 PM local time on Memorial Day, to pause for a duration of one minute to remember those who have died in military service to the United States.
On a personal note, Memorial Day has deep significance to our family. Mom’s Great Uncle Buddy, was one of those brave young men who gave the ultimate sacrifice in World War II. His body was never recovered, which still haunts our family, who to this day continues to decorate his grave. So we ask that on Memorial Day at 3:00 PM please pause to remember those who died while serving in the United States military.
