Memorial Day

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, and it's a day of rememberence for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defending our nations freedoms.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John A. Logan, and first observed on May 30, 1868 when flowers were laid on the graves of the Union & Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetary. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

There are many traditions regarding Memorial Day. Sadly, many have forgotten what the day really is about. There is one tradition that still continues, and it's one I would personally love to witness. Since the late 1950's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. To me that is among the highest showings of respect there is.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps."

Sadly, I must admit that's a resolution I have never even heard of until I began doing some reading regarding Memorial Day about a month ago. It's one I want to start implementing though as my way of thanking all the brave men & women who gave their lives for me and my family. Even with all the problems we have in this country, there is still no other place I'd rather live, and thanks to the men and women of our armed forces, it continues to be that way.