What follows is a suggestion we found online, and it certainly seems doable: “At 3:00 PM local time on Memorial Day, a National Moment of Remembrance takes place. This is a one-minute pause for all Americans to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. It’s a time to reflect on the sacrifices made by members of the Armed Forces and others who have died as a result of their service to the country.”
Memorial Day
We’ll begin with what Google tells us about the day: “Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May, a day to remember and honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces. It’s a time for reflection on their sacrifices, and to remember those who gave their lives in service to the country. While it’s a day of remembrance and honor, it is not a day to express gratitude to current veterans; that is more appropriately done on Veterans Day.”
Google says not to express gratitude to current veterans, and pardon us, we will disobey Google. We are grateful to all of the men and women who have served; to those who did not die in battle, thank you for your service. We hope you have a meaningful Memorial Day.
The Origin of the “Day”
After the Civil War ended, the day to honor and decorate the graves of fallen soldiers came into being. It was originally called Decoration Day. It became Memorial Day in 1868 when a Union veterans’ organization, declared it to be a nationally observed holiday. The declaration was called the “Memorial Day Order”, and it was established to be held on the last Monday in May. The proclamation asks Americans to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace.
We visited the website of the government’s National Cemetery Administration [LINK] for their version of the story.
“In the waning years of the Civil War (1861–1865) and immediately afterward, communities in the North and South, Black and White, decorated soldiers’ graves with floral honors on springtime “decoration days.” The practice of strewing flowers on graves has been documented from Classical Roman times to western Europe in the nineteenth century.
“On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a politically powerful organization of Union veterans led by Major General John A. Logan — issued General Orders No. 11 or the “Memorial Day Act.” This issuance formally established “Memorial Day” as a Decoration Day on which the nation would remember its war dead and decorate their graves with flowers.
“In subsequent decades competition flourished to claim when and where the first such gathering occurred — in one way or another. Recent scholarship, however, points to the ladies of Columbus, GA, who in April 1866 lobbied for a clearly defined Memorial Day on which to place flowers on the graves of Civil War dead.”
Permanent Peace
We are more than happy to take a moment, on May 26, at 3 pm to stand for one minute in silence, with gratitude for the sacrifices of soldiers in the Civil War and beyond. What wars have occurred since then? There was the Spanish American War of 1898, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the war in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq. We honor every soldier who died in these wars, and we most certainly pray for permanent peace on Earth.
In the media we see companies offering Memorial Day deals and using the phrase… “celebrate Memorial Day.” We would rather Remember the sacrifice and Honor the soldiers. War is a sad failure of governments to create Peace. Peace is the victory… choose Peace. ‘Celebrate’ Peace. Let’s recognize the sacrifices, honor the men and women who paid the ultimate price, and in our minute of silence, envision a world at Peace. How beautiful the thought!
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