Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the military.
Originally known as Decoration Day, it started in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
The date of Decoration Day, May 30th, 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 nearly 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Civil War soldiers buried there.
The Civil War ended in the spring of 1865 and claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history. It required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.
By the late 1860s, Americans in towns and cities throughout the country began holding springtime tributes to these fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
While some records indicate that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemorations was organized by a group of former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865, the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966.
Waterloo first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866, and was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, when businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
Today, many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings, and participating in parades. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.
To 86-year-old Army Veteran Ed Alexander, it means something more.
Regardless of how you celebrate Memorial Day, whether it be a family gathering, a picnic, or just a day resting in the air conditioning somewhere, any veteran will tell you the day set aside to honor those who died serving our country, should always be one to maintain their memories for generations to come.
