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National Moment Of Remembrance & Wreath Laying At The Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier
FYI: Eestablished by Congress, asks Americans, wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, to pause in an act of national unity for a duration of one minute. Regards, Ted
Of course let us all bear in mind that Memorial Day is not Veterans Day; it is for honoring those killed in defense of country. Or it is now --- it began as a Civil War death commemoration, Decoration Day (flowers on graves, hence occurring in springtime). Chiefly Confederate dead, but very soon inclusive.
It expanded further (with veterans parades etc.) because of the late-spring weather, as Veterans Day occurs in the fall on account of its connection to WWI (Armistice Day was that one's original name).
As you noted, it began as a commemoration of soldiers who had died in the Civil War. As to whether it was ever intended to honor only those soldiers who had died defending the United States, or whether the intent was to include also those who fought against the Union, the record isn't so clear.
As a national holiday, it was promulgated by General John A. Logan, who headed the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), an organization of Union veterans.
“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.
It is true that at the first Decoration Day ceremony, in 1868, flowers were laid at the graves of soldiers buried at Arlington, both Union and Confederate. And it is true that most of the local predecessor memorials were in the south. But "During the Memorial Day commemoration at Arlington in 1869, the G.A.R. placed guards around the handful of Confederate graves to prevent them from being decorated. Most Southern states considered May 30 a Yankee holiday and kept separate Confederate memorial days." https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/25/opinion/when-memorial-day-was-no-picnic.html
A paragraph in that column that IMHO aptly describes the holiday today:
Today, high school bands march behind majorettes instead of playing "Rock of Ages." The 1968 law establishing Memorial Day as one of five Monday holidays surely hastened its trivialization.
Finally, and especially in light of the fact that the original 1868 ceremony honored soldiers of the Confederate States of America: - Why exclude military personnel of other countries who died fighting side by side with American troops (i.e. in defense of the US)? - Why exclude civilians who also died in defense of their country (e.g. 50,000 civilians died in the Civil War)?
Comments
Go Army!!
For me, it was the best of times. I met and married my wife while serving. Patience and persistence are always major parts of a winning strategy.
Best Wishes and continued success and safety for our military everywhere and all the time.
Regards
It expanded further (with veterans parades etc.) because of the late-spring weather, as Veterans Day occurs in the fall on account of its connection to WWI (Armistice Day was that one's original name).
Here's a CNN page contrasting Veteran's Day and Memorial Day.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/25/us/veterans-day-memorial-day-different-trnd/index.html
As you noted, it began as a commemoration of soldiers who had died in the Civil War. As to whether it was ever intended to honor only those soldiers who had died defending the United States, or whether the intent was to include also those who fought against the Union, the record isn't so clear.
As a national holiday, it was promulgated by General John A. Logan, who headed the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), an organization of Union veterans. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history
It is true that at the first Decoration Day ceremony, in 1868, flowers were laid at the graves of soldiers buried at Arlington, both Union and Confederate. And it is true that most of the local predecessor memorials were in the south. But "During the Memorial Day commemoration at Arlington in 1869, the G.A.R. placed guards around the handful of Confederate graves to prevent them from being decorated. Most Southern states considered May 30 a Yankee holiday and kept separate Confederate memorial days."
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/25/opinion/when-memorial-day-was-no-picnic.html
A paragraph in that column that IMHO aptly describes the holiday today: Perhaps worth noting is that despite attempts to make Veteran's Day a Monday holiday (it was included in that 1968 legislation), it was promptly restored to Nov. 11.
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-americans-fought-to-restore-veterans-day-to-november
Finally, and especially in light of the fact that the original 1868 ceremony honored soldiers of the Confederate States of America:
- Why exclude military personnel of other countries who died fighting side by side with American troops (i.e. in defense of the US)?
- Why exclude civilians who also died in defense of their country (e.g. 50,000 civilians died in the Civil War)?