Honoring Those Who Have Served – Lest We Forget the Origins
of Memorial Day
When
I was a child, Memorial Day was more than just the start of the summer season,
the official blessing for wearing white shoes, and the Indy 500. There were
parades to honor the fallen hero, the soldier, sailor, airman or marine who had
given his life in the service of his or her country. We laid wreaths on the
graves of those who has served, watched parades with marching WWI, WWII, and
Korean War veterans, laid flowers on the graves of our own loved ones and flew
the American flag from every porch. There were no three-day weekends. Memorial
Day was always, reliably, on May 30th.
Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, was
first observed to remember the sacrifices of those who had died on both sides
of the American Civil War on May 30, 1868.
General John Logan, who was serving as the national commander of the
Grand Army of the Republic, set forth his proclamation in his General
Order No. 11. The
proclamation was meant as a way to show respect to and honor the dead of both
sides. The General Order read in part:
The 30th day
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
church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed,
but posts and comrades will in their own
way arrange
such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
We are
organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the
purpose
among other things, "of preserving and strengthening
those kind
and fraternal feelings which have bound together
the soldiers,
sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late
rebellion."
What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of
our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its
foes? Their soldier lives were
the reveille
of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo
of
rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with
sacred
vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the
nation can
add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute
to the
memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely
on such
hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and
going of
reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of
avarice or
neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations
that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a
free and
undivided republic.
If other
eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust,
ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of
life remain
to us.
Let us, then, at
the time appointed gather around their sacred
remains and
garland the passionless mounds above them
with the choicest
flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them
the dear old flag
they saved from his honor; let us in this solemn
presence renew our
pledges to aid and assist those whom they
have left among us a
sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the
soldier's and sailor's
widow and orphan.
Now, I admit to being
a fan of three-day weekends, cookouts, and strict rules regarding the wearing
of white shoes (which really flatter nobody); however, we should not lose sight
of the meaning of Memorial Day and the need to honor those who have paid the
ultimate price so that we can live our lives as free people.
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