Memorial Day

MEMORIAL DAY
MAY 25, 2009

General John Logan

Memorial Day was first officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress in 1968 to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional, separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

USA Medley

The bugle call Taps had its origins on a battlefield of the Civil War. After the Union suffered a large number of casualties in a battle near Richmond, Virginia, Brigade Commander Colonel Daniel Butterfield reflected with sadness upon the men he had lost. Unable to compose music, he hummed a melody which his aide wrote down in musical notation. The company bugler played it that night to honor their dead comrades. It was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874. Accompanied by the drumbeat, Muffled Ruffles, it is the highest honor given to those who have died in service to our country.

usf21.gif (10730 bytes)

The "Memorial" in Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us who are beneficiaries of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Often we do not observe the day as it should be, a day where we actively remember our ancestors, our family members, our loved ones, our neighbors, our friends who have given the ultimate sacrifice:

by visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
by visiting memorials.
by flying the Flag half-staff until noon.
by flying the 'POW/MIA Flag' as well (Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act).
by participating in a "National Moment of Remembrance": at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day, and for Taps to be played.

THE WALL

The National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Arlington National Cemetery

To His Place of Rest ... PHOTO

"War drew us from our homeland in the sunlit springtime of our youth.
Those who did not come back alive remain
in perpetual springtime -- forever young --
And a part of them is with us always."
-- Author Unknown

WORLD WAR I 1914 - 1918

WORLD WAR II 1939 - 1945

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

graphic by
www.millan.net

Back to CELEBRATE

Back to MISTY VISIONS