The importance of remember those who served
Did you know Memorial Day was originally known as “Decoration Day”? It is a special day of remembrance for those who have died serving our nation. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1968 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
By 1890, Memorial Day was recognized by all of the northern states, but the South refused to acknowledge it, choosing instead to honor their dead on separate days until after World War 1, when the holiday changed from honoring just Civil War casualties to honoring American who died fighting any war. Even today, some southern states have an additional, separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alameda, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina, and June 3 in Louisiana and Tennessee.
You may see red poppies on Memorial Day, the symbol first introduced by Moina Michael in 1915. She sold poppies to her friends and coworkers and donated the money to benefit servicemen in need. The tradition spread to France with Madam Guerin visited and learned of this new custom. Ms. Guerin began making paper poppies and selling them in France to raise money for war-orphaned children and widowed women. The tradition eventually spread to other countries.
Unfortunately, traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years as many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and tradition of Memorial Day. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. And while there are still a few towns and cities that hold parades, many have not held a parade in decades and some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, not just the fallen in service to our country.
There are some exceptions, however. Since the late 1950’s, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1200 soldiers of the 3rd US Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. Then they patrol the area 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, a practice that continues to this day.
And did you know that in December 2000, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed, asking that 3:00 PM in local time be observed by 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.”
So no matter what you happen to be doing at 3:00 PM on Monday, May 31, set your cell phone alarm and take a moment of silence to remember those who died in service to this country. It’s the least we can do for the sacrifices they made!
