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The Roots of Memorial Day
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I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend. No matter what activities you have planned for this weekend, I do hope that you will stop and take a moment to remember what Memorial Day is really about.
Memorial Day evolved out of the various remembrance ceremonies held by small cities and towns throughout the country to honor their citizens who fought and died in the Civil War. The ceremonies involved decorating the graves of the fallen. The southern states had their own separate Confederate remembrance days, and in northern states the ritual became known as Decoration Day.
The first national conception of Memorial Day was the brainchild of General John Alexander Logan. Logan served under Ulysses Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. Logan received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Vicksburg.
Logan was commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of Union veterans, not the fictional Grand Army of the Republic some may be thinking of. Logan was so impressed with the various remembrance ceremonies both Union and Confederate that he wanted to combine them into a national holiday. In his capacity as commander he issued General Order No. 11, which officially proclaimed May 30th as Decoration Day:
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 church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit…What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds...Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.
Southern states refused to observe the day until after World War I when the day evolved into honoring fallen American soldiers in all wars. The term “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882 and became more common after World War II. The federal government officially labeled the holiday “Memorial Day” in 1968.
In 1971 the Uniform Holidays Act turned three American holidays: Columbus Day, Washington’s Birthday, and Memorial Day into to three-day weekends. In the case of Memorial Day, Congress recognized it as the last Monday in May, instead of May 30.
Lost in the all the talk about beach traffic and what to slap on the grill, is that Memorial Day means something beyond a long weekend and sales gimmicks.
Traditions matter and these ceremonies are not just rote rituals; they serve a meaningful purpose to remind us that brave men and women died for this country. They died to end slavery and preserve “the last best hope of earth;” they died to free Europe and end the Holocaust; and they died protecting democracy from totalitarianism in Asia.
We are at war now, and once again our soldiers have given the last full measure of devotion. No matter your views on Iraq or Afghanistan the fallen of these on-going conflicts deserve our unified gratitude.
For every fallen soldier there is a parent, a spouse, a child, a sibling, who lost a loved one. Honoring this sacrifice and loss cannot assuage their grief and anguish. However, at the very least, as a grateful nation, we can pause, remember, and say a quiet thank you.
We all hear the over used mantra “never forget,” but the problem is that we don’t often remember.
In other words, we need to earn it.
Please take a moment from your busy weekend to remember that.
Locally, Fort McHenry will host an all-day program of services marking Memorial Day.
At Arlington National Cemetery, Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division will place American flags on all the grave makers, and the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns takes place Monday May 26 at 11:00 AM.
Nationally, there will be a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 PM (locally) on Memorial Day.
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