The average American is as red-blooded and patriotic as they come, but even still, not every national holiday gets the same attention. Truth be told, I couldn’t keep Memorial Day and Labor Day straight until my late teens. It held echoes of Independence Day for me: expressed thanks for freedoms won by our soldiers and lots and lots of food (emphasis on the barbecue and the first tastes of summer). All of that good stuff. But it feels like it comes up short of the point sometimes.
What’s the “why” behind this day in late spring? Why do we celebrate Memorial Day? This excerpt from the Department of Veteran Affairs and the National Cemetery Administration’s History Program speaks to some of the history:
“Memorial Day, a federal holiday held the last Monday in May, is the nation’s foremost annual day to mourn and honor its deceased service men and women. Originally called Decoration Day, it was formalized by a ‘Memorial Day Order’ issued by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan in 1868.
“The modern proclamation calls on Americans ‘to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace.’
In the waning years of the Civil War (1861-1865) and immediately afterward, communities in the North and South, Black and White, decorated soldiers’ graves with floral honors on springtime ‘decoration days.’ The practice of strewing flowers on graves has been documented from Classical Roman times to western Europe in the nineteenth century. On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a politically powerful organization of Union veterans led by Major General John A. Logan, issued General Orders No. 11 or the ‘Memorial Day Act.’ This issuance formally established Memorial Day as a Decoration Day on which the nation would remember its war dead and decorate their graves with flowers.”
Though it was officially recognized on the federal level, it was not recognized with legislation until a 1966 proclamation by President Lyndon B. Johnson: “Shortly after that, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, legislation enacted in 1968 – effective in 1971 – designated Memorial Day a national holiday and moved it from May 30 to the last Monday in May.”
There’s a lot to remember when we look to the service men and women who have fought and died to preserve our freedoms. The total number of Americans killed in all U.S. wars numbers more than 1.1 million, says PBS News, echoing estimates from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veteran Affairs. The top five ranking conflicts are the American Civil War (498,332 est.), World War II (405,399 est.), World War I (116,516 est.), the Vietnam War (90,220 est.) and the Korean War (54,246 est.).
While many Americans have loved ones currently serving in the Armed Forces, many can point to grandparents and prior generations who have served (and some who have died) in these conflicts. If anyone is interested in finding out if they had ancestors serve and perish in these conflicts, there are a lot of good resources available online. Dedicated genealogical programs like Ancestry.com are helpful, as well as specific war- or battle-related memorial sites where the individual(s) might have fought and government entities like the National Archives – all of these can be helpful on that journey.
Let’s give pause while we’re grilling and enjoying time with our families this Memorial Day and take time to give thanks for the Americans who laid everything upon the altar of freedom in the effort to protect and preserve this wonderful country of ours – the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”
“Americans may not only pay tribute to our honored dead but also unite in prayer for success in our search for a just and lasting peace.” – Pres. John F. Kennedy, “Prayer for Peace,” Memorial Day 1962
by Andy Haman
