Today is Memorial Day. This is a day where people in
the United States should take time to remember the men and women who
lost their life serving in the military. I get disappointed when
people consider Memorial Day nothing more than a day off from work to
have a picnic or engage in some other type of outdoor activity. There
are many more people who do understand the significance of this day.
Most of them have lost loved ones to war.
First Memorial Day
After
the Civil War, there were many celebrations for war dead. The first
recorded observance of war dead happened after the Civil War on May
1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina. There were 257 Union
Prisoners who died as prisoners at Charleston's Hampton Park Race
Course. They were buried in unmarked graves. Missionaries and
teachers joined with the black residents of Charleston and organized
a May Day ceremony. Freedmen were black residents who had gotten
their freedom from the Emancipation Proclamation. The freedmen cleaned
and landscaped the burial grounds at the Hampton Race Course. They
built an enclosure with an arch. It had a label that read “Martyrs
of the Race Course.” It is estimated that 10,000 people, majority
freedmen, joined together on May 1 to honor the war dead.
Decorations
Day
In
1868, General John a. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of
the Republic joined with Union veterans organizations to ask them and
their communities to have memorial ceremonies for the civil war dead.
They were to decorate the graves of fallen Union soldiers. It was to
be held on May 30th because flowers were abundant.
The first official Decorations day occurred on May 30, 1868. The
following year over 300 cities and towns around the country arranged
to have parades and celebrations. The observance grew in popularity
over time. This day was called “Decorations Day.”
Memorial
Day
The
holiday evolved from “Decoration Day” to” Memorial Day” over
time. The first reference to the holiday being called Memorial Day
happened in 1882. Memorial Day was the common reference after World
War II. It was declared an official Federal holiday on June 28, 1968.
This law changed the day of celebration from May 30th to
the last Monday in May. It took a few years before all 50 states
adopted the changes to the holiday.
Current
Observance
Today
most businesses observe Memorial Day because it is the unofficial
start of summer. Many organizations such as The Veterans of
Foreign Wars (VFW) and other veteran organizations would like it
celebrated on the original date. Many people (myself included)
believe that designating a holiday to simply have a three-day weekend
undermines the significance of the day. It has become a day where
most people don't think about those who died defending our
freedom. Many people are too focused on getting ready for the summer
months.
National
Moment of Remembrance Act
This
Act was designated to make certain America's fallen heroes are not
forgotten. It created a White House Commission on the National Moment
of Remembrance. The charter of the commission declares it is to
“encourage the people of the United States to give something back
to their country, which provides them so much freedom and
opportunity.” This is done by promoting and coordinating
commemorations for the United States Memorial Day, as well as the
National Moment of Remembrance. A Celebration of the National Moment
of Remembrance requires a person to stop whatever they're doing at 3
pm. local time on Memorial Day. This is when they have a minute of
silence to remember and honor those who died during their service to
our country.
Conclusion
To
those of you who partake in a National Moment of Remembrance, I honor
you. Those of you who spend the day putting flowers on the graves of
veterans and thinking about their sacrifice, I thank you. To all
those who have lost loved ones to war, my heart goes out to you.
Anyone who has no idea there is more to Memorial Day then picnics,
sports events and a day off from work, I don't know what to say to
you.
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