Some may laugh at this initially because we talk so much about "bbq" on this site, but it does strike home. Some may relate quite well to this image and look at Memorial Day as day off work, a chance to sleep in, or maybe cash in on some good shopping deals. In reality some don't even know the true meaning of Memorial Day or what it stands for.
I guess I was motivated to start this thread up because of a show I caught on tv. It was a documentary on ER doctors currently serving in Iraq. The footage was all too real, graphic, and emotional to watch. People were being treated for all types of wounds, explosions, and such. It wasn't like seeing something on tv like ER, Gray's Anatomy, House or whatever medical show you may see. Real people in trauma or losing their lives right on tv, and others trying to do everything they could to save their lives. People ranging in ages from adults to small children being brought in. One 11 year old girl in Iraq had been shot in the head by her own brother. She was pronounced dead within a matter of minutes.
We may not see this stuff on a real level, but it is in fact real. To all of those who have served, or are currently serving, this day is devoted to you.
Even if you don't support what is going on with the current war [iraq,etc], you are currently where you are, because others laid down their life for your freedom.
Quote:
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).
It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Michael replied with her own poem:
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.
Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.
Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.
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Remembering those in Korea
in Afghanistan
to all those who lost their dad, husband, best friend...
to those still serving
and to the unknown soldiers
Enjoy your memorial day if you're with family, at a parade, etc. Just remember the reason why you have your day off.