I'm A Silly Mami: The History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day: A day of remembrance for those who died serving in a war.

To all our Veterans- Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Know that you are appreciated, honored and recognized not just today but everyday. We are safe and free because of you. Please also remember all our hero Service Dogs and the amazing job they do – Thank you.

Last week I did a presentation for the residents on Memorial day, History and Traditions. Here is a little bit of it.

Memorial Day:

New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873 and back then it was called Decoration Day
The first “official” Memorial Day observed was in Waterloo, NY
Memorial Day was officially declared on May 5th, 1868, by General John Logan. On that day, flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
Southern states refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I. By 1890, it was recognized in all of the northern states.
The longest standing tradition associated with Memorial Day is the Indianapolis 500

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington Mansion and surrounding 200 acres were designated as military cemetery on June 15, 1864
Nearly 100 gravesite services are conducted each week
Since the late 1950s, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place small American flags on more than 260,000 gravestones.

Iwo Jima

6,825 Americans Died – 36 Days
The statue illustrates one of the most famous incidents of World War II (click on the link above to view the rising of the flag
It represents all the Marines who have given their lives in the defense of the United States
Watch a clip about the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima

Memorial Day Traditions

Many people observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials
The U.S. flag is flown at half-mast from dawn until noon local time.
A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3pm EST on Memorial Day.
Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars take donations for poppies in the days leading up to Memorial Day – I got mine on Saturday, did you?

A Musical Tribute