Memorial Day,
Although I enjoy a good BBQ and will entertain just about any reason to have one and to get together with friends and relatives, I still take the time and remember the reason why General John Logan officially proclaimed Decoration Day aka Memorial Day on May 30th 1868.
His order designated this day for the purpose of strewing flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in the defense of their country. You can read the full order here GENERAL ORDER 11 Some of you even give to the VFW to show your support for Memorial Day and depending on where you donate are given a Red Poppy to wear in return for your donation, but do you know why? The short version is that it’s a tradition that was inspired by a poem by Moina Michael in 1918 called We Shall Keep the Faith. In that poem is a familiar line you may have heard which is "That blood of heroes never dies". Lord I hope that it never does.
Although I enjoy a good BBQ and will entertain just about any reason to have one and to get together with friends and relatives, I still take the time and remember the reason why General John Logan officially proclaimed Decoration Day aka Memorial Day on May 30th 1868.
His order designated this day for the purpose of strewing flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in the defense of their country. You can read the full order here GENERAL ORDER 11 Some of you even give to the VFW to show your support for Memorial Day and depending on where you donate are given a Red Poppy to wear in return for your donation, but do you know why? The short version is that it’s a tradition that was inspired by a poem by Moina Michael in 1918 called We Shall Keep the Faith. In that poem is a familiar line you may have heard which is "That blood of heroes never dies". Lord I hope that it never does.
Many of us nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. Memorial Day was originally on May 30th, but Congress made the day into a three-day weekend in with the National Holiday Act of 1971 this made it all the easier for people to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day. As the VFW stated in its 2002 Memorial Day address: "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public nonchalant observance of Memorial Day." At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, and neglected.
This past Friday I was invited by my daughter to attend a Memorial Day ceremony at her elementary school. Of course after working a 12 hr shift and having to be back for another 12hrs in just a few short hours after this gathering I was less than overjoyed. Mind you it was another shift of over 15yrs that I have spent serving my country.
It was, just as last year; the entire school body made their way outside marching in single file to form a half moon circle around Old Glory in front of the school. They sang patriotic songs and then called out the names of the invited guests and presented them with a little certificate thanking us for our service. I thought to myself is this Memorial Day or Veterans Day? Are we confusing our youth with what I consider an important tradition? General Order 11 clearly specifies what this day is for… its for remembering our war DEAD. Folks, I for one am far from dead. Now, while I’m on my soap box back on May 2 2000 President Clinton issued a memo that called for a return to a more traditional Memorial Day remembering our war dead. This would become The National Moment of Remembrance. Just as the memo says it is a day of national awareness and reverence, honoring those Americans who died while defending our Nation and its values. Some will debate that this should be a day to also honor our local hero's like police officers and firefighters. Well, I agree we should honor their service and in fact we do at least in the case of police officers. As a police officer myself I can tell you we have our own "week" called "National Police Week" which was May 10-19...a whole week! Let Memorial Day be for what its was intended to be......It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all for a country I love with all my heart.
I for one have no problem letting my children know that life is more than unicorns pooping out rainbows. We'll be over at the veterans cemetery where my father is buried doing a little landscaping and at 1500 listening to TAPS through my MP3 player.
I hope all of you had a great weekend and find the time on your extra day off to remember the fallen...
This was great. I love memorial Day. We have had many soldiers over the past hundreds of year defend and die for this country and I am proud of every single one of them. Thanks for posting this.
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