Posted by
Harry E. Hallett on Monday, May 26, 2008 12:00:00 AM
Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday that is observed annually on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country.
Memorial
Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan,
national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York
in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The
South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate
days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring
just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who
died fighting in any war).
It is now
celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by
Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to
ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several
southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the
Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3
(Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
Traditional
observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years. Many
Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of
Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are
increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the
proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities
that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in
decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead,
and not just those fallen in service to our country.
To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance"
resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time,
for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own
way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are
doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."
The
Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to returning the
meaning back to the day. What is needed is a full return to the
original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the
nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have
given their all in service to their country.
On
January 4, 2007 Senator Inouye introduced bill S 80 to the Senate which
proposes to restore the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day
back to May 30th instead of "the last Monday in May". At present there
are no co-sponsors. On the same day it was introduced, the bill was
read referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. As of today there has been no further major action taken by the Committee on this bill.