Top 10 Things to Remember About Memorial Day

Good Friday morning everyone. Today starts Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start
of summer – a time for cookouts and picnics, parades and sales. Many of us will extend our celebration to a four-day weekend and head off to the beach or the country to have fun.

But that’s not the original intention of Memorial Day, which takes place this year on May 29. Memorial Day is a holiday that celebrates the memory of those who fought to protect our rights.

With several of my family members having served in the military, my family celebrates Memorial Day every year to remember their service as well all who have sacrificed for our freedom.

10. While Lyndon Johnson dedicated Waterloo, New York, as the official birthplace of Memorial Day, there are over two dozen cities and towns that claim they are the originators. Some evidence also states that some women’s organizations in the South decorated the graves of fallen soldiers before the end of the Civil War.

9. Memorial Day was officially proposed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan and was first celebrated 25 days later at the Arlington National Cemetery.

8. New York was the first state to officially announce Memorial Day as a holiday in 1873. By 1890, the holiday was recognized as an official holiday by all of the northern states.

7. The South refused to recognize Memorial Day as an official day until after World War I. The change came when the holiday switched from honoring Civil War soldiers to honoring all fallen soldiers in battle. Many southern states still have a separate day for honoring fallen Confederate soldiers.

6. Since the late ’50s, the U.S. Infantry had placed a small American flag on each of the 260,000 gravestones in the Arlington National Cemetery the Thursday before Memorial Day. They proceed to patrol 24 hours a day until Memorial Day to make sure the flags are still standing and not disturbed.

5. In December of 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed, asking every American at 3p.m. to voluntarily observe a moment of remembrance and respect in silence or while listening to Taps.

4. As of 2013 there were a total of 1,196,793 total war casualties, of which 300,000 are buried the the Arlington National Cemetery.

3. An average of 28 burials of honored soldiers occurs each weekday in the Arlington Cemetery, totaling 6,900 funerals annually.

2. In 1971, Memorial Day was changed to the last Monday in May to provide a 3 day weekend for all federal employees.

1. On the first Memorial Day, General James Garfield made a speech at the Arlington National Cemetery, and over 5,000 participants decorated the 20,000 graves of fallen soldiers buried there.

While most people know Memorial Day as the start of summer and a time to relax and grill with friends, it’s important to remember that this holiday is to honor fallen soldiers who fought for our country and its’ rights.

To add a new understanding of Memorial Day to your holiday try adding some of these facts into a trivia game for everyone to play.

Graphite Payments, honors and remembers fallen soldiers who paid a price that we can never fully repay.

Happy Memorial Day……..