The term “Memorial Day” has come to mean many things for us as Americans. It has come to mean a long weekend with family, a summer holiday complete with grilling out and popsicles, and a way to usher in summertime festivities. And yet, this day set aside to honor the sacrifice of so many men and women holds a heaviness that is inescapable as we recognize the cost of our freedom and the toll it has taken on so many lives. To those who have served, who have sacrificed, and who have ultimately given their lives for our freedoms, we say “thank you” today.
I want to take this opportunity to give a brief history of the holiday we observe today! Memorial Day as we know it today has evolved from the tradition of decorating the graves of fallen soldiers following the Civil War. The Civil War is the single event in our nation’s history that has taken the most American lives to date, at around 620,000 casualties. The first Memorial Day, which was originally called “Decoration Day,” was observed on May 30, 1868. In 1971, it became officially recognized as a national holiday and was given the name “Memorial Day.”
When Major General John A. Logan first issued the orders for observing Decoration Day in 1868, he urged our nation with these words:
“We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance… Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”
What a profound and sobering quote to ponder on this day. May this be the attitude of our hearts today – to reverently declare that we have not forgotten as a people the cost of our freedom. And with that, I wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day, celebrated with loved ones, with an iced tea in hand, and with a heart of thankfulness for the sacrifices that have made our life in America as we know it today possible.
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