Today is the U.S. observation of Memorial Day (27 May 2024). This day is one of two holidays dedicated to those who have given military service, the other being Veterans Day. However, as we view Memorial Day we reflect on those men and women who have died while serving. It is a day filled with solemnity, even though some consider this day to be the “unofficial start of summer”.
The honoring of this day began during the aftermath of the Civil War (1860 – 1864). Some historians trace the origin of this day of remembrance to Waterloo, NY in 1865. This observance was seen as an opportunity to recognize fellow citizen’s sacrifice and to decorate their graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags. This led to the original name of “Decoration Day”. Other towns and cities began observing a day of remembrance as well. In 1868 Gen. John A Logan, as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic veteran’s organization, ordered GAR posts to recognize Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) as an official holiday. In part, his order read “the 30th day 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 lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
The observance date was changed to the last Monday in May by the 1968 Uniform Monday Holiday Act, moving permanently to a Monday two federal holidays in the United States — Washington’s Birthday and Memorial Day — and made Columbus Day a federal holiday, also permanently on a Monday. This Act provided for “uniform annual observances” for these holidays, as well as providing long weekends where many travel to be with family or to attend various celebrations.
May 30th was also my maternal grandmother’s birthday and she still referred to “Decoration Day” throughout her life. She also remembered that at least twice in her memory that snow fell in northern New York State on her birthday. But more often she mentioned spending the day in cemeteries, placing flowers on the graves of both family members and those who died in military service. Having been born in 1902, she knew veterans of the Civil War as well as World Wars 1 & 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. A number of those veterans that she knew were direct family members who remembered men and women who died in service.
As we pause our daily lives to consider those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, it matters not whether those men and women were family members, friends, or complete strangers. Throughout the history of the United States, citizens have stepped forward to answer the call to defend freedom. I’ll close with a quote that seems to be appropriate for the day, although it is not original with me and I have yet to discover the original author in my research. It does summarize my thoughts and feelings about “Memorial Day”.
“[Today] will be the most expensive holiday on the calendar. Every hot dog, every burger, every spin around the lake, or drink with friends and family…is a debt…purchased by others. This is not about all who’ve served our country…that day comes in the fall. This one is in honor of those who paid in life and blood; whose moms never saw them again, whose dads wept in private, whose wives raised kids alone, and whose kids only remembered them from pictures. This isn’t simply a day off. This is a day to remember — that others paid for every free breath you ever get to take.”
