• Denise Frisino

    memorial day

    Decoration Day

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    There is a lively debate as to which city in our vast country actually held the first Decoration Day in honor of those souls lost in battle. This ancient custom of decorating the graves dates back to before the Civil War. However, on May 5, 1868 General John Logan, commander–in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Grand Order #11. This new ruling established May 30th as the day to be set aside annually and observed nationwide to commemorate our deceased soldiers.

    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…

    The 30th of May did not reflect any battle, but was chosen for the abundance of available springtime flowers. The Women’s Relief Corps, an auxiliary of the GAR, organized the events. At the first event at Arlington that year 5,000 participants spread flowers over 20,000 Union and Confederate graves.

    The South refused to participate and chose their own day to honor the fallen until after World War I, when the day embraced all Americans fallen in any battle, not just the Civil War. (Some southern states still observe a different day.) By the end of World War II the term Memorial Day became the common usage and replaced the original Decoration Day. And over time the date was changed to a national holiday creating a three day weekend. Yet, the ceremonies, speeches and decorating still live on.

    In 1915 Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a physician with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, wrote the poem, “In Flanders Fields”.

    The first stanza by McCrea swept Moina Michael, a YWCA worker, into action. At a 1918 conference for Overseas’ War Secretaries, Moina pinned a red poppy to her coat and brought dozens more to hand out. This simple red flower was quickly adopted and by 1920 the red poppy became the official symbol for the National American Legion.

    We should always honor the men, women, young and old, who gave their lives for our freedom. It is truly a sight to behold the many flags placed at the wind swept graves in honor on this special day.

    Yet we must remember to also drift petals on the seas for those whose watery graves will never hold markers, to salute the sky for those whose ashes remain in faraway countries or those who fell silently, their unknown whereabouts only a whisper.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

    http://www.usmemorialday.org

    Memorial Day

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    While the debate on when and where the first Decoration Day/Memorial Day was held in America still rages, one fact remains–the day set aside to honor and remember those fallen in battle, those who bravely fought for our freedom, was originally the concept of women.

    The custom of decorating the graves of soldiers harkens back to the Ancient Greeks. This Attic Vase Painting, from the Classic Period dating back to 440 B.C., depicts two women approaching a grave stele or monument that has been draped with two wreaths.

    The tradition of putting wreaths and flowers on soldiers graves became rooted in America, unfortunately, as the result of war on our own land. The Civil War erupted in 1861. On June 3rd of that year, in Warrenton, Virginia, the first grave of a fallen Civil War soldier was decorated to honor and remember the loss due to combat. [Read more…] about Memorial Day

    Tip Your Hat

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    In my research I am constantly reminded of those who served by the military caps they wear. Be it the increasingly rare survivors of WWI and WWII, or the Korean War, Vietnam, perhaps our most recent skirmishes, these hats are a symbol, proudly worn, representing those whose lives were altered in defense of our country.

    That is why we should understand and observe Veterans Day.

    The horrors of World War I formally halted when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. This prodigious day arrived on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

    One year later, on November 11, 1919, in conjunction with the other countries who celebrate the anniversary of end of WWI, Woodrow Wilson spoke these prophetic words from the White House to his countrymen in observance of the first Armistice Day.

    ”…We (The Americans) were able to bring the vast resources, material and moral, of a great and free people to the assistance of our associates in Europe who had suffered and sacrificed without limit in the cause for which we fought. Out of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men.”

    On May 13, 1938 the US Congress approved a resolution to mark November 11th as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’.”

    As World War II came to an end in 1945, Raymond Weeks proposed to General Dwight Eisenhower that Armistice Day should celebrate all veterans. Time marched on, as did the increasing parades for veterans, and in 1954 congress amended the bill and replaced “Armistice” with “Veterans.” The persistent Weeks became known as the “The Father of Veterans Day.”

    So it is that on Veterans Day we celebrate those who served in the United States military. On Memorial Day, in May, we remember those who gave their lives during service.

    Either day, and every day, we should give thanks to those who selflessly dedicated their time in order to provide us with the freedom we now enjoy. We should honor this day as it was intended “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace” and those who help us maintain that precious gift of peace.

    Remember, when you see a veteran wearing their cap which signifies their service, tip your hat at them in thanks.

    Denise