MEMORIAL DAY

"I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States." —John Adams

Memorial Day has its origin as "Decoration Day," when, after the War Between the States, families and friends of both northern and southern war dead, more than 600,000 of them who perished, honored those veterans by decorating their graves.

The first Decoration Day was May 30, 1868, a solemn ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, the former estate of Gen. Robert E. Lee. On that day, Congressman (and later president) James Garfield addressed more than 5,000 families of the fallen. Then, as it is now on Memorial Day, the day is specifically set aside to honor those who died in the service of our nation, though more recent observances include all veterans who are now deceased.

In his 1868 call to celebrate Decoration Day as a national holiday, Maj. Gen. John Logan stated eloquently: "Let us then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of springtime. Let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor. Let us, in this solemn presence, renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the nation’s gratitude—the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan."

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