In 1866, after the final shot was fired in the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil, as families were still mourning the losses of fathers, sons, and brothers, an interesting phenomenon began sweeping the country. In places all over the north and south, cities mutually large and small, survivors on both sides of the conflict began decorating the graves of fallen loved ones with spring flowers. And they didn’t stop there. Noticing the bareness of enemy graves amidst their floral displays, flowers were placed on adversarial stones as well by the decorators.
Places like Columbus, Mississippi, Macon, Georgia, Waterloo, New York were amongst the first holding celebrations to honor the causalities of the Civil War. Well before May 5, 1868, when Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, head of The Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, declared May 30th Decoration Day, most notably because spring flowers were in bloom all across the nation, common Americans had decided fallen soldiers, regardless of affiliation were to be honored for their sacrifice on the battlefield.
Memorial Day, originally designated as a day of decoration for causalities of the Civil War, was expanded to include causalities of all American wars sometime after World War I, and became a national holiday by an act of Congress in 1971. To consider the gravity of Memorial Day is to properly grieve the loss of life incurred in all wars. The decorations are merely gestures of respect but so integral in how we remember those who gave their all for the freedoms we enjoy today.
It seems the older I get the more I respect the American soldier. Most boys dream of soldiering some day, in their backyard fantasies, but it is through my accumulating age that I respect more and more those who selfishly serve our country. We support our soldiers but rarely understand their sacrifice, as if to assume they should desire something other than freedom fighting. I hear some criticize the warrior’s direction with disdain, openly wonder about their options, and pity those deployed throughout the world. I do not. At times I wish I was a soldier, not in some boyish fantasy, but in an effort to support the county I love, by whatever means necessary, especially on days like Memorial Day.
While I missed my opportunity to serve, I do not hold regrets, but rather offer my support to those who have chosen this noble destiny, pledging to give their all, up to and including their lives, to further claim that America and her values are worthy of such a sacrifice. For those who have paid this price, I can think of no better way to remember them than to decorate their gravesites and participate in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3pm on Memorial Day, this Monday, May 31, 2010.
In our Memorial Day celebrations, consider the words of Theodore O’Hara, who penned Bivouac of the Dead:
“Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone
Places like Columbus, Mississippi, Macon, Georgia, Waterloo, New York were amongst the first holding celebrations to honor the causalities of the Civil War. Well before May 5, 1868, when Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, head of The Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, declared May 30th Decoration Day, most notably because spring flowers were in bloom all across the nation, common Americans had decided fallen soldiers, regardless of affiliation were to be honored for their sacrifice on the battlefield.
Memorial Day, originally designated as a day of decoration for causalities of the Civil War, was expanded to include causalities of all American wars sometime after World War I, and became a national holiday by an act of Congress in 1971. To consider the gravity of Memorial Day is to properly grieve the loss of life incurred in all wars. The decorations are merely gestures of respect but so integral in how we remember those who gave their all for the freedoms we enjoy today.
It seems the older I get the more I respect the American soldier. Most boys dream of soldiering some day, in their backyard fantasies, but it is through my accumulating age that I respect more and more those who selfishly serve our country. We support our soldiers but rarely understand their sacrifice, as if to assume they should desire something other than freedom fighting. I hear some criticize the warrior’s direction with disdain, openly wonder about their options, and pity those deployed throughout the world. I do not. At times I wish I was a soldier, not in some boyish fantasy, but in an effort to support the county I love, by whatever means necessary, especially on days like Memorial Day.
While I missed my opportunity to serve, I do not hold regrets, but rather offer my support to those who have chosen this noble destiny, pledging to give their all, up to and including their lives, to further claim that America and her values are worthy of such a sacrifice. For those who have paid this price, I can think of no better way to remember them than to decorate their gravesites and participate in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3pm on Memorial Day, this Monday, May 31, 2010.
In our Memorial Day celebrations, consider the words of Theodore O’Hara, who penned Bivouac of the Dead:
“Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone
In deathless song shall tell,
When many a vanquished age hath flown,
The story how ye fell.
Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight,
Nor time's remorseless doom,
Shall dim one ray of glory's light
That gilds your deathless tomb.”
Read the poem
Regardless of political affiliation, race, creed, color, or nationality, all Americans owe their liberty to the men and women who died protecting the very freedoms we enjoy everyday in America. To that end, I say, Happy Memorial Day! We can debate politics on Tuesday! Just a thought!
P.S. I offer my sincerest gratitude to all of you who have donned the uniform of the Armed Forces and championed freedom around the globe. Thank you for your sacrifice and your service!
Other writings on Memorial Day:
Life, Libery, and the Pursuit of Happiness...A Declaration
Other patriotic writings:
May God Thy Gold Refine
911; Altering the Landscape of the American Mind
The Long Road Home
A Sparrow and an Empire: The Words of American Architects
Read the poem
Regardless of political affiliation, race, creed, color, or nationality, all Americans owe their liberty to the men and women who died protecting the very freedoms we enjoy everyday in America. To that end, I say, Happy Memorial Day! We can debate politics on Tuesday! Just a thought!
P.S. I offer my sincerest gratitude to all of you who have donned the uniform of the Armed Forces and championed freedom around the globe. Thank you for your sacrifice and your service!
Other writings on Memorial Day:
Life, Libery, and the Pursuit of Happiness...A Declaration
Other patriotic writings:
May God Thy Gold Refine
911; Altering the Landscape of the American Mind
The Long Road Home
A Sparrow and an Empire: The Words of American Architects
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