You’re probably firing up the grill later today. It is, of course, the unofficial first day of summer. But it’s also something more: Memorial Day. It’s the day to remember those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country: those who have died while in the military service.
Even though the day itself has been celebrated by Americans since the Civil War, it wasn’t officially called Memorial Day until 1967 (it was originally called Decoration Day). While individuals marked the day across the country, the day wasn’t observed uniformly until 1971; Public Law 90-363 was signed by President Johnson on June 28, 1968, with the law taking effect on January 1, 1971.
P.L. 90-363 confirmed the dates of certain public holidays. There are now eleven legal public holidays (Fun trivia: can you name the others? Answer is at the bottom!)
Memorial Day became a federal holiday for work purposes in 1888. The purpose of designating it as a federal holiday was, according to a Congressional report (downloads as a pdf), to allow “Civil War veterans in federal employ to pay their respects to those who gave their lives in the conflict, without losing a day’s pay.” At that time, there were quite a few federal employees who had previously served in the Union Army during the Civil War. A number of those were members of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a powerful veterans’ organization with over 400,000 members in 1890.
Observing a day for those who had died in military service had, however, gone on long before it was sanctioned by the feds. The practice of decorating military graves with flags and flowers had extended at least as far back as during the U.S. Civil War, when more than 625,000 soldiers died. It was particularly common in the South where war widows would lay flowers at gravesides and often spend the day picnicking. General John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the GAR, was given the idea by his wife who was inspired by the Confederate graves, and he requested that GAR members do the same on May 30, 1868. The day was reportedly selected because the end of May was a lovely day for flowers. The tradition – and the timing – continues today.
The day is also now marked with parades, speeches, and other celebrations. There’s a lot of flag-waving and it is tradition that the flag is quickly raised, then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position in remembrance of those who gave their lives in military service. It only remains at half-staff position until noon; after noon, it is raised to full-staff, where it remains for a day.
While the Civil War may have been the bloodiest and deadliest of the wars – and the inspiration for Memorial Day – it was not the last time that our country would experience great loss. We lost more than 100,000 lives in World War I and more than 400,000 in World War II. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, we saw more than 35,000 lives lost during the Korean War and nearly 60,000 lives lost in the Vietnam War. More recently, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken the lives of more than 6,000 American soldiers.
If you read the blog regularly, you know that I come from a military family. I have two amazing brothers who have served our country in the U.S. Navy (one is currently away from his family now, doing so). I am lucky that every time they shipped out, they came back. I know that is not the case for so many of our military families. It’s a tough life. But it’s one they have lived with pride.
Today, military honors are available to not only those who have died in service but also to those who have died after serving our country for many years – that wasn’t always the case. Believe it or not, it wasn’t until January 1, 2000, that Public Law 106-65 was signed into law by President Clinton, making it mandatory for the United States Armed Forces to provide the rendering of honors in a military funeral for any eligible veteran if requested by the family. That means that an honor guard detail is provided at the funeral: one member of the detail is a representative of the branch of service of the deceased veteran. The honor guard folds and presents the American flag to the family and plays Taps, followed by a gun salute. I had the opportunity to witness a military funeral in person a couple of months ago when my uncle, retired USAF, was laid to rest. I found out later that the honor guard on that chilly Saturday wasn’t paid but was, in fact, all-volunteer. It was a very humbling feeling.
So when you watch the parades and the ceremonies today, think about this: it’s not tax dollars but people that make Memorial Day special. I hope that you make the effort to show your gratitude today – whether it’s buying a poppy or raising the flag or laying a wreath. We should always be thankful for those who have laid down their lives so that we can continue to live ours.
Answer to the question above:
There are 11 legal public holidays (most conformed by Public Law 90-363). The first is Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, of course. The remaining are New Year’s Day, January 1; Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, the third Monday in January (signed into law by President Reagan in 1983); Inauguration Day, January 20 in the year after a presidential election; Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February; Independence Day, July 4; Labor Day, the first Monday in September; Columbus Day, the second Monday in October; Veterans Day, November 11; Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November; and Christmas, December 25.