A Little History About Memorial Day, Previously Called, “Decoration Day”

 

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. 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.

Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It 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. “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,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

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 observed in almost every state on the last Monday in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363). This helped ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays, though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19th in Texas; April 26th in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10th in South Carolina; and June 3rd (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

[ Header image from http://www.freewebheaders.com ]

[Memorial Day image from bingdotcom]

 

What Were You Doing on September 11, 2001?

 

I have brought this post back from last year.   Watching the memorial services on TV this morning, it has brought it back so vividly, again.

I remember it so clearly:  it comes back to me every time that fateful day is mentioned.  I have to put it into words now.

Bob and I were having breakfast.  We had the TV on as usual – but not really paying attention to the show, whatever it was.  The phone rang.  It was unusual for the phone to ring before 9 am.  It was my daughter, calling from work.

She asked if we had the TV on.  She sounded upset.  She told us to turn to the news channel – we usually watched CNN.  “A plane crashed into one of the Twin Towers!”

As we watched, the camera picked up another visual:  Another plane was headed to the other Twin Tower!  Bob and I gasped in disbelief.  We were watching what millions of people were probably watching at the same time.  The newscasters were beyond words.  They were shouting and scrambling for words.  This couldn’t be happening!

But it was.

Then the news reported there was a plane that crashed right into the Pentagon, and then another plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.  It seemed as if the world – our world – was being turned upside down.

And those scenes were played over and over and over.  I couldn’t watch.  Every time there was a replay, I turned it off.  It was too upsetting.

Some time later, I found out that a cousin of mine had a meeting scheduled in one of the Towers, but, at the last minute, it was moved to another venue.  Speaking of timing!  She was supposed to be there, but then again, she wasn’t supposed to be there.  It was not her time.

And, one of my neighbors, here in Florida, lost a son.  He was one of those courageous firefighters who, unlike most of us who would run from a fire, ran towards it with the one goal in mind:  to save people.

It was another “date which will live in infamy.”

A Mother Finds The People Who Saved Her Son’s Life

This is one of the most heartwarming stories/videos I’ve seen. Watch until the end. It’s beautiful.

Kindness Blog

Ten years after a tragic car accident, Kellie wants to find the heroes that saved her son’s life and thank them.

To learn more about Kellie’s story and her music, visit http://kelliehaddock.com

Content Submission: The LOVELY Lucy Taylor 🙂

Have a friend who might like this post? Please share!

---

View original post

“I’m Just A Regular Guy” – Ron White

He’ll tell you he’s just a regular guy. He’s not a genius – in fact, he flunked out of school. But he’s trained himself to be a world memory champion. And when you see how he’s using his gift of memory to honor fallen soldiers, you’ll definitely be inspired. He was a U.S. Military Intelligence veteran of the war in Afghanistan.  His name is Ron White.

One of his dreams is to take the “Memory Wall” of fallen Afghanistan heroes and travel to all the small cities in America.  This video also shows how Ron’s efforts are appreciated by our soldiers who experience the “Memory Wall.”