Monday, May 30, 2011, is Memorial Day. As our sister blog, In the Muse, wrote last year, Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May. Memorial Day was originally established as Declaration Decoration Day in 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. The day is intended to pay tribute to the individuals who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the United States, and their families.
To reaffirm this tribute, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act in 2000 as P.L. 106-579. The act encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.
Honor the brave, Memorial Day, May 30, 1917, from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
More information is available from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Today in History: May 30 page from the Library of Congress American Memory Project.
May 31, 2011 at 3:29 pm
“Memorial Day was originally established as Declaration Day in 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers”.
Might that have originally been Decoration Day?
May 31, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Yes, thank you!