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Representative Ron Forster |
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Memorial Day (Last Monday in May) JOHN
15:13 (NIV) Founder of Memorial Day Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Miss.; Macon, Ga.; Richmond, Va.; Boalsburg, Pa.; and Carbondale, Ill. The Birthplace of Memorial Day In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags. Memorial Day Legislation By the late 1800s,
many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and,
after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of
America's wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be
celebrated the last Monday in May. Confederate Memorial Day Several Southern states continue to set aside a special day for honoring the Confederate dead, which is usually called Confederate Memorial Day:
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