Remember those who died serving their country
As we approach Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, we honor the men and women in the military who died serving their country. It’s important to remember the 414,920 American service members and Merchant Mariners who died fighting for freedom. Seven-thousand Marines died in the battle of Iwo Jima alone.
There is a distinction between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Memorial Day is the last Monday in May. This date honors military men and women who died in the service of our country while Veterans Day, Nov. 11, recognizes all those who served in the armed services.
The World War II National Museum in New Orleans has collected nearly 10,000 personal stories to supplement their interactive displays and oral experiences. What a perfect place to continue genealogical research for those of us who retain memories of loved ones who fought and still fight for freedom.
You would think the background of such an important holiday could be simple to trace, but that’s not the case. We need to go back to the name, Memorial Day, which was first used in 1882 and was known as Decoration Day after WWII. In 1971 Memorial Day officially became a national holiday the last Monday in May.
In WWI the holiday was called Poppy Day, named for the small red flowers that grew on the battlefields in France. American veterans of the war began selling poppies, and the money collected from the flowers helped poor and sick veterans.
According to the Library of Congress, Southern women decorated the graves of soldiers even before the end of the Civil War. Mississippi, Virginia and South Carolina all had precedents. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes about 25 places that claim they originated the holiday. The practice of decorating graves with flowers is a custom with many origins and unsupported myths.
The history of Memorial Day in the United States is complex to say the least.
The practice of decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers is confusing. There are those who claim Abraham Lincoln was the founder or, on May 5, 1868, Gen. John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for a national decoration day to be observed every year.
Numerous scholars attribute the beginning of Memorial Day to a group of women who announced April 1866 was the correct date, as well as another group of ladies who liked July 4, 1864, as the birthplace of Memorial Day. And then the Grand Army of the Public complained young people after WWII tended to forget its purpose, not a day of games, races, picnics and fun.
In 1923 the scheduled date of the Indianapolis 500 was vehemently opposed by elderly GAR soldiers who rejected holding the race on a holiday. Gov. Warren McCray vetoed the bill in the state legislature, and the race continued.
Memorial Day was not its official name until 1967 when the federal Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed. This act moved all regular holidays from their traditional holiday dates to a specified holiday on Monday so that it became a convenient three-day weekend. This law finally took effect in 1971.