Monday will be Memorial day here in America. This is a holiday weekend during which many people will travel, visiting family or taking a weekend away. It has long been tradition to have picnics, cookouts, and celebrate however one may. While I will do some grilling (or actually, I plan on cranking up the smoker), to me this holiday has a more somber meaning - a meaning that I hope many have when thinking on it.
Memorial Day is the day when we honor those who gave their lives for this great nation. As a US Navy veteran, this has special meaning to me. While I do not know anyone personally who has died in the defense of the US Constitution, I do know people who have lost loved ones or known people who have died in the service of the United States of America. My dad knew people whose names are on the wall of the Viet Nam Veterans' Memorial in Washington DC. He doesn't talk about his service much.
On May 5, 1868, General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic proclaimed, "The 30th 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 date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle, and he called it Decoration Day.
In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson declared the birthplace of Memorial Day, as we now call it, to have been in Waterloo, NY, though this is difficult to prove, and many places claim to be the birthplace of the tradition. In actuality, Memorial Day was most likely born out of many small celebrations meant to honor those who gave all for their country, spread throughout the land.
It is my sincere hope that while the many millions of people in America celebrate the long weekend this weekend, they will pause to remember what the reason for this holiday is. Please stop and remember the men and women who have died for the sake of your freedom. Thank you.
Memorial Day is the day when we honor those who gave their lives for this great nation. As a US Navy veteran, this has special meaning to me. While I do not know anyone personally who has died in the defense of the US Constitution, I do know people who have lost loved ones or known people who have died in the service of the United States of America. My dad knew people whose names are on the wall of the Viet Nam Veterans' Memorial in Washington DC. He doesn't talk about his service much.
On May 5, 1868, General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic proclaimed, "The 30th 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 date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle, and he called it Decoration Day.
In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson declared the birthplace of Memorial Day, as we now call it, to have been in Waterloo, NY, though this is difficult to prove, and many places claim to be the birthplace of the tradition. In actuality, Memorial Day was most likely born out of many small celebrations meant to honor those who gave all for their country, spread throughout the land.
It is my sincere hope that while the many millions of people in America celebrate the long weekend this weekend, they will pause to remember what the reason for this holiday is. Please stop and remember the men and women who have died for the sake of your freedom. Thank you.
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