Grif.Net

05/29/21 Weekend Grif.Net – 10 Facts often Overlooked this Weekend

05/29/21 Weekend Grif.Net – 10 Facts often Overlooked this Weekend

MEM=
ORIAL DAY is much more than just a three-day weekend and a chance to get =
the year’s first sunburn. It’s a time to remember the men =
and women who sacrificed their lives for their country. Here are some =
facts to give the holiday a better perspective.

 

1=
. MEMORIAL DAY BEGAN AS A RESPONSE TO THE CIVIL WAR.

Mem=
orial Day was a response to the unprecedented carnage of the Civil War, =
in which a total of some 640,000 American soldiers died. The loss of =
life and its effect on communities throughout the country led to several =
spontaneous commemorations of the dead. In many locations, north and =
south, women put flowers on the graves of their fallen soldiers.  =
In Richmond, newly-freed Blacks gathered at the main cemetery. =
Confederate widows followed suit and this impressed Union hero John A. =
Logan watching this fitting tribute

 

2=
. MAJOR GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN MADE THE DAY OFFICIAL.

Com=
mander of the Grand Army of the Republic (organization of Union =
veterans) General Logan, speaking at a Carbondale (Illinois) gathering =
on May 5, 1868, issued General Order No. 11, which set =
aside May 30, 1868, “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.”  His =
prayer was that such an event be “kept up from year to year while =
a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed =
comrades.”

 

3=
. MEMORIAL DAY WAS ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS DECORATION DAY.

The=
holiday was long known as Decoration Day for the practice of =
decorating graves with flowers, wreaths, and flags. The name =
“Memorial Day” goes back to 1882, but the older name =
didn’t disappear until after World War II. In 1967 a federal law =
mandated “Memorial Day” the official name.

 

4=
. MEMORIAL DAY IS MORE OF A FRANCHISE THAN A NATIONAL =
HOLIDAY.

Cal=
ling Memorial Day a “national holiday” is a bit of a =
misnomer. While there have been 10 federal holidays created by =
Congress—including Memorial Day—they apply only to federal =
employees and the District of Columbia. Federal Memorial Day, =
established in 1888, allowed Civil War veterans, many of whom were =
drawing a government paycheck, to honor their fallen comrades without =
being docked a day’s pay. For the rest of us, our holidays were =
enacted state by state. It was broadened to include those who died in =
all the country’s wars, not just the Late, Great Unpleasantness. =

 

5. =
MEMORIAL DAY WAS INCLUDED IN A 3-DAY WEEKEND HOLDAY ACT.

In =
1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act shifted Memorial Day from May 30 to =
the last Monday in May, varying from year to year..

.

6=
. NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES BEGAIN IN 1868.

On =
May 30, 1868, President Ulysses S. Grant presided over the first =
Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. This was the home =
and plantation of famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee confiscated =
and turned into a cemetery so Lee’s family could never use it. =
5000 people attended in sweltering heat. Future president James A. =
Garfield, a Civil War general and Republican congressman from Ohio, =
said, “If silence is ever golden, it must be beside the graves of =
fifteen-thousand men, whose lives were more significant than speech, and =
whose death was a poem the music of which can never be sung.” =
Sadly, the speech lasted almost two hours.

 

7=
. MEMORIAL DAY BRINGS RENEWED FOCUS ON THE “UNKNOWN =
SOLDIERS”.

&#8=
220;Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to =
God.” That is the inscription on the Tomb of the Unknowns, =
established at Arlington National Cemetery to inter the remains of the =
first unknown soldier, a World War I fighter, on November 11, 1921. =
Unknown soldiers from World War II and the Korean War were subsequently =
interred in the tomb on Memorial Day 1958.

 

8=
. MEMORIAL DAY IS HONORED BY A MOTORCYCLE “ROLLING THUNDER” =
RIDE

On =
Memorial Day weekend in 1988, 2500 motorcyclists rode into Washington, =
D.C. for the first Rolling Thunder rally in order to draw attention to =
Vietnam War soldiers still missing in action and prisoners of war. =
Numbers have increased to more than 500,000 and riders during 2020 =
covid-quarantine time tracked and shared their “22 miles” in =
a virtual rolling thunder. 

Tra=
veling 22 miles is significant, because in addition to raising awareness =
for soldiers missing in action and prisoners of war, it brings attention =
to the average 22 veterans who die by suicide every DAY.

 9=
. SOME STATES STILL CELEBRATE A CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY.

Sev=
eral Southern states continue to set aside a day for honoring the =
Confederate dead, which is usually called Confederate Memorial Day. =
It’s on the fourth Monday in April in Alabama and the last Monday =
in April in Mississippi, while states like Texas and =
Tennessee observe Confederate Heroes Day on January 19 and =
Confederate Decoration Day on June 3, respectively. Some are even =
declared as state holidays.

 

1=
0. MEMORIAL DAY HAS ITS OWN SET OF CUSTOMS.

Gen=
eral Order No. 11 stated that “in this observance no form of =
ceremony is prescribed,” but over time, several customs and =
symbols became associated with the holiday. Most notably, it is =
customary on Memorial Day to fly the flag at half-staff until noon, =
and then raise it to the top of the staff until sunset. The World War I =
poem “In Flanders Fields” inspired the Memorial Day custom =
of wearing red artificial poppies.

Mem=
orial Day is a solemn event, but don’t feel too guilty about doing =
something frivolous (like hosting a barbecue) over the weekend. All =
Americans are asked to observe a “National Moment of =
Remembrance” to pause for one minute at 3 p.m. in an act of =
national unity. The time was chosen because 3 p.m. “is the time =
when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national =
holiday.”

 

~~

Dr Bob Griffin =

[email protected] =
www.grif.net

"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"