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Memorial Day History
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for
those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to
its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to
being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized
women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil
War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L.
Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the
Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic
American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially
declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966,
it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely
that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or
spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into
the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the
growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation
in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that
Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about
reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.
Memorial Day was 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 first state to
officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized
by all of the northern states. 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 with the National Holiday
Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) 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.
In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields,"
Moina Michael replied with her own poem:
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It
seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never
dies. |
She then conceived of an
idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the
nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her
friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later
a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this
new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made
artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed
women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American
Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and
Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW
for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans'
organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their "Buddy" Poppy
program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948
the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National
Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage
stamp with her likeness on it.
Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many
Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At
many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected.
Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While
there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not
held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all
dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.
There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 50's on the Thursday
before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small
American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington
National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure
that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St.
Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National
Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, a practice that continues to this day. More
recently, beginning in 1998, on the Saturday before the observed day for
Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of
approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and
Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye's Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004,
Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years.
To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day,
the "National Moment of
Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m.
local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their
own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are
doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."
The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the
meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the original day of
observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to
remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their
country.
But what may be needed to return the solemn, and even sacred, spirit back to
Memorial Day is for a return to its traditional day of observance. Many feel
that when Congress made the day into a three-day weekend in with the National
Holiday Act of 1971, it made it all the easier for people to be distracted from
the spirit and meaning of the day. As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day
address: "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined
the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the
general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."
On January 19, 1999 Senator Inouye introduced bill S
189 to the Senate which proposes to restore the traditional day of
observance of Memorial Day back to May 30th instead of "the last Monday in May".
On April 19, 1999 Representative Gibbons introduced the bill to the House (H.R.
1474). The bills were referred the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee
on Government Reform.
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