By Erika Zobel, 1st VP of American Legion Greece Post 468
Will you be attending Aunt Gina and Uncle George’s annual Memorial Day BBQ gathering, where Uncle Steve sprays all the kids with his new water sprayer? Every year, cousin Maggie puts together water balloons so the older kids can toss them around in the backyard after lunch. Cousin Denise always brings her seven-layer Jell-O dessert, which takes three days to prepare. If that’s not your jam, maybe you will attend the town parade, secretly lining up your lawn chairs along the road the night before to get the best spot. Your kids get excited and wait with anticipation for the clowns riding their unicycles up and down the street, honking their horns and passing out balloon animals. School marching bands polish their instruments, put on their glittering uniforms, and shine their boots as they march along, showing their pride for their music, school, and community. However, not everyone celebrates this fourth Monday in May in the same way. Others may opt for a simpler, more somber day by visiting loved ones in a cemetery, bringing flowers, cleaning up gravestones after the long, hard winter, or planting new seeds to represent new beginnings and life.
What exactly is Memorial Day? The holiday honors U.S. military men and women who gave their lives in service for our nation’s freedom. It was born out of the enormous loss of over 600,000 lives suffered by both the North and South during the Civil War. While the holiday’s exact origin is disputed, in 1966 the federal government declared the nearby town of Waterloo, New York, its official birthplace. On May 5, 1866, the townspeople of Waterloo ceased all business and decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flags and flowers. On May 5, 1868, John A. Logan, Leader of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, issued an order establishing “Memorial Day” to be observed on May 30 as a Decoration Day for the nation to remember its war dead and decorate their graves. This declaration was also a way of trying to unify the northern and southern states, as they still struggled with their differences. The first national Decoration Day observance was held on May 30, 1868. On that day, a crowd of over 5,000 came together at Arlington National Cemetery to hear speeches and place ribbons, flags, and flowers on both the Confederate and Union graves.
Throughout the 19th century, Decoration Day celebrations continued throughout battlefields, including those at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. With the World Wars, the meaning of Decoration Day later expanded to include all of America’s fallen soldiers, not just those from the Civil War. After the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice Day, November 11, 1921, it became the focal point for the national Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony.
Although widely recognized as a state holiday, with New York leading the way in 1873, Memorial Day didn’t become a federal holiday until 1971. Congress changed the observance from May 30 to the last Monday of May to give federal workers a three-day weekend.
This Memorial Day, stop to remember the holiday’s history and share with children the reason we celebrate. It’s not about hot dogs or hamburgers, fireworks or firecrackers. It’s a special day across the country where Americans and veterans come together to celebrate and honor our ancestors who gave their lives for our freedoms, so you and I can live in a free country.
Greece Post 468 accepts new members year-round, with membership based on meeting requirements. Members work to support veterans, active-duty service members, families, and local communities. The Post is located at 344 Dorsey Road, Rochester, NY 14616.
Visit online at: https://greeceny468legionpost.com
Facebook: The American Legion Auxiliary – Greece Post 468
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