By Congressman Rick Boucher
On the 30th day of May 1868, our Nation observed its first official Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for those whom have died in our nation's service.
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, and there are many stories as to the day's actual beginnings. Althought May 30,1868 was proclaimed to be the first officialMemorial Day, as a way to honor the nation's fallen from the Civil War, the nation as a whole did not begin to celebrate the day until after World War 1, when the holiday was changed from honoring those who died during the Civil War, to honoring Americans who died fighting in any way.
There are several traditional observances for Memorial Day which have been established through the years. Since the late 1950s, the 3rd US Infantry, also known as "The Old Guard", have placed small American Flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. The flags are placed the Thursday proceeding the Holiday. Following the placement of the flagsm the service members patrol 24 hours a day throughout Memorial Day weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.
To pay proper tribute to the fallen of our country, there are several way that we can appropriately observe Memorial Day. Some of these include:
...Vistinig cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of fallen Service Members
...Visit memorials of American wars ir American War Heroes
...Flying the American Flag at half- staff until noon on Memorial Day
...Flying the POW/MIA Flag on Memorial Day.
As May 30, 2005 approaches, I encourage all to set aside time to approriately honor our nation's veterans and the men & women who have died during the course of our 229 year history preserving the freedoms of the United States of America
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY - WEEKEND
Linear Mode
