IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
#303 – May 26, 2024
Memorial Day
Military history gives a vivid description of what this weekend commemorates and the pivotal battle in American history that spawned its genesis.
Apart from law enforcement, military servicemen and women, and medical personnel on duty, vast numbers of Americans pause in their work in celebration of Memorial Day. Most people realize that it is a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in war, but – sadly – this is not the case for the remainder of our population.
Our children need, from the earliest grades or school, to read and understand the history of their nation. Currently, American history, world history and basic civics are lacking among the curricula offered in our elementary and secondary schools.
For the moment, I will omit collegiate studies. That subject plays havoc with my temperament – not to mention my blood pressure. All that aside, it is the day to go back to read just how the holiday came about and the early days of its celebration. To do that, we need to revisit days long gone…
The years following the end of the Civil War in 1865 saw American communities tending to the remains and graves of an unprecedented number of war dead. All of the previous wars and conflicts fought by the United States combined would still not add up to the body count produced by the Civil War. On the first official Decoration Day — May 30, 1868 — Ohio Rep. James A. Garfield, a former general and future U.S. president, addressed a crowd of 5,000 gathered at Arlington National Cemetery:
“Hither our children’s children shall come to pay their tribute of grateful homage. For this are we met to-day. By the happy suggestion of a great society, assemblies like this are gathering at this hour in every State in the Union.
“Thousands of soldiers are to-day turning aside in the march of life to visit the silent encampments of dead comrades who once fought by their side. From many thousand homes, whose light was put out when a soldier fell, there go forth to-day to join these solemn processions loving kindred and friends, from whose heart the shadow of grief will never be lifted till the light of the eternal world dawns upon them.”
But Decoration Day was not yet an official national holiday. May 30 was a day touted by the Grand Army of the Republic, an association of Union Civil War veterans, as an official day of remembrance for people across the country. The idea was to honor the war’s dead by decorating the graves of Union soldiers.
Over the years, localities and states adopted resolutions to make Decoration Day an official holiday in their areas. Each of the former Union states had adopted a Decoration Day by 1890.
As time went on, “Memorial Day” began to supplant “Decoration Day” as the name of the holiday, and it soon became a day to honor all fallen American troops, not just those from the Civil War. After the two World Wars, Memorial Day was the term in more common usage, and the act of remembering all of the fallen took on a renewed importance.
In 1968, the U.S. government passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which put major holidays on specific Mondays to give federal employees three-day weekends. Memorial Day was one of these holidays, along with Washington’s Birthday, Labor Day and Columbus Day. The act also codified the name “Memorial Day” into law.
It all went into effect in 1971 and, by then, there were no more Civil War veterans — but there were millions of vets from later wars. So, as we pause to enjoy the day, none of us should forget those who served and died.
God bless America on this the 156th year of recognizing the service of our armed services.