What Does Memorial Day Mean To You?

U.S. Military history began in 1775 when the Continental Congress created the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. During the U.S. Civil War from 1861 until 1865, about 750,000 soldiers on both sides were killed. Since its inception, the U.S. has been involved in about 40 military conflicts including the War on Terrorism, which started in 2001, and has no end in sight. As a result, the death toll has reached 1,321,612 (according to Wikipedia). The idea to put flowers on the graves of the fallen soldiers came from women (as many other honorable ideas) before the end of the Civil War and in 1868, General John A. Logan officially proclaimed May 30^th as Decoration Day—a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.

It is believed that the day was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. Actually, the holiday called Memorial Day was claimed to have started two years earlier, and there are approximately 25 places—primarily in the South—which claimed the origin of Memorial Day. It was only in 1971 that Congress declared Memorial Day to be a national Holidays, which is when it was placed on the last Monday of May. This year, it is celebrated on May 26^th.

I wrote this short history just to illustrate how often people, whom we have never met, whose names we do not remember or never knew, helped to create the conditions for the life most of us are benefiting from.