Memorial Day

It Means Everything

While many holidays are celebrated in the United States, Memorial Day is very special to me. From Arlington Cemetary to the battlefields of Gettysburg, we remember the souls who gave everything so that we can live free.

Personally, everyone has their reasons for making this day a special holiday. From my being arrested protesting the Vietnam War to witnessing the recent events on college campuses I wonder what’s next. Has our country changed? Am I the one that is out of touch as we move forward? I don’t think so but from another’s perspective I’m unsure so I ask. What do you think?

How Did Memorial Day Start

Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2024 will occur on Monday, May 27.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings, and just participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history. It required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, Americans began to hold tributes to these fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

It’s unclear where this tradition began; numerous communities initiated the memorial gatherings independently. Some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day celebrations was organized by a group of formerly enslaved people in Charleston, less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered to the Union in 1865.

The “federal” government declared Waterloo, New York, the “official” birthplace of Memorial Day in 1971. Waterloo, which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866, was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for “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 proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day was chosen as it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the very first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery. 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the more than 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there. Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor the dead on separate days until after World War I.

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, The Vietnam War, The Korean War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Memorial Day Traditions and Rituals 

Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war, a tradition that began with a World War I poem. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday that unofficially marks the beginning of summer. To me, it means much more.

No one can ever diminish the thanks we owe to those who gave their lives so we can be free. My generation knew many who fought in the world wars. We were able to talk to them and hear their stories. Vanquished by ill-gotten remedies, those who gallantly fought in Vietnam suffered a different fate. War is hell but those who fight to preserve our liberties are heroes. I wear my “red poppy” proudly and fly “Old Glory” outside of my house even though everyone doesn’t agree with what I stand for. “Never again” are very important words. What I’m witnessing today, unfortunately, tells me that history unchecked, will repeat itself. Recent generations must wake up before it’s too late.