While Memorial Day began as a memorial for Civil War veterans. It has become more of a holiday weekend that opens the summer season. It is celebrated with backyard barbecues, outdoor picnics, and parades but few take the time to remember the reasons for the day.
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
Taps
Most Scouts have become familiar with the playing of Taps, but not all where it came from:
The revision that gave us present-day taps was made during America ’s Civil War by Union Gen. Daniel Adams Butterfield, heading a brigade camped at Harrison Landing, Va., near Richmond
The first time taps was played at a military funeral may also have been in Virginia soon after Butterfield composed it. Union Capt. John Tidball, head of an artillery battery, ordered it played for the burial of a cannoneer killed in action. Not wanting to reveal the battery’s position in the woods to the enemy nearby, Tidball substituted taps for the traditional three rifle volleys fired over the grave. Taps was played at the funeral of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson 10 months after it was composed. Army infantry regulations by 1891 required taps to be played at military funeral ceremonies. Taps now is played by the military at burial and memorial services and is still used to signal “lights out†at day’s end.
Day Is Done,
Gone the Sun,
From the Earth,
From the Hill,
From the Sky,
All Is Well,
Safely Rest,
God Is Nigh
From Ronald Reagan’s remarks at Memorial Day Ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. May 1982
I have no illusions about what little I can add now to the silent testimony of those who gave their lives willingly for their country. Words are even more feeble on this Memorial Day, for the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who, in return, loved their countrymen enough to die for them.
Yet, we must try to honor them — not for their sakes alone, but for our own. And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice.
Our first obligation to them and ourselves is plain enough: The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we — in a less final, less heroic way — be willing to give of ourselves.
Being raised in good old Waterloo NY, “The Official Birthplace of Memorial Dayâ€, I thought I would just add the below statements on.
“Twenty-four (24) communities nationwide lay claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. In May 1966, Pres. Lyndon Johnson on behalf of the U.S. government sanctioned Waterloo, New York, as the “official” birthplace of Memorial Day because that community’s earliest observance 100 years earlier in 1866 was considered so well planned and complete. While Waterloo, NY has been sanctioned by the U.S. Government as being the birthplace, other communities have interesting and touching stories concerning their first observance. Among these communities is Boalsburg, PA. Among other earlier communities which felt inspired to set aside a special day for remembrance of its war dead were Mobile, Ala.; Montgomery, Ala.; Camden, Ark.; Atlanta, Ga.; Milledgeville, Ga.; New Orleans, La.; Columbus, Miss.; Jackson, Miss.; Vicksburg, Miss.; Raleigh, N.C.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Charleston, S.C.; Fredericksburg, Va; Portsmouth, Va.; Warrenton, Va.; and, Washington, D.C.â€
“While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.â€
In addition our 3 Troops, 3 Packs and 1 Crew help decorate graves each year since at least 1966. They also participate in the 3 parades that take place (one to kick off the weekend on Friday, one on the National Memorial Day (last Monday of May), and one on the “True Memorial Day†(May 30th). In recent history we have also helped with security and setup of the “Celebrate Commemorate†ceremony that takes place in conjunction with our town’s festival. Schools and business are closed on both the true and observed memorial days (Giving us two 3 day weekends this year).
Have a safe and Happy Holiday Everyone!!!!