#memorialday

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I hope you take some time today to honor those who have fallen. It’s the day to thank the soldiers, airmen, Marines, seamen, and those of the Coast Guard who have died in service to their country.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War. On May 1, 1865 freed slaves gathered to observe the POWs from one Union camp who had died and were buried in a mass grave. They consecrated the ground, sang hymns, and put down flowers.

In 1868, the holiday was organized by a veteran of the Union Army, General John A. Logan. He selected May 30th as a national day of commemoration for those killed in the Civil War. Named Decoration Day, it was the day to lay flowers on veterans’ graves.

The reason for the date is a mystery, but it is thought that May 30th was selected because flowers across the country would be in bloom.

It’s possible that General Logan took the idea from Southern women’s groups. They were already laying flowers on the graves of Confederate soldiers.

Decoration Day officially became Memorial Day in 1971, and expanded to include all wars, not just the Civil War. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved the holiday to the last Monday in May. Veterans groups were against the move, thinking it would make the holiday a celebration of the beginning of summer rather than a time to honor the dead. They have lobbied to have the holiday returned to May 30th to change the focus of the holiday back to its original purpose.

The red poppy is a symbol to remember the sacrifices made by the nation’s military. It began in 1915, when poppies grew in battlefields across northern France and current-day Belgium. Wearing a red poppy on Memorial Day began with a World War I poem. A Canadian Lieutenant wrote the poem ‘In Flanders Field’ after seeing clusters of the red flowers. He was a brigade surgeon in an Allied artillery unit and wrote of the soldiers who had been killed in battle.

A teacher in Georgia read the poem later in 1915 and wrote an accompanying poem, ‘We Shall Keep the Faith.’ Because of her efforts, the poppy is the symbol of rememberance.

To honor our nation’s dead, Americans are encouraged to fly their flags at half-staff until noon, and pause at 3 p.m. local time for the National Moment of Rememberance.

Information for this post was found at History.com.

Sonja

It’s Gold Star Mothers’ Day

Each year on Gold Star Mother’s Day the United States president calls on all Americans to display the nation’s flag and hold appropriate meetings to publicly express their love, sorrow, and reverence towards Gold Star Mothers and their families. Government buildings are also required to display the flag.

American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. is an organization of mothers whose sons or daughters served and died while serving their nation in times of war or conflict.

The last Sunday in September is also Parents of Fallen Military Sons and Daughters Day in New Jersey.

This day is a tribute to all parents whose children died as a result of their service with the United States Armed Forces. It commemorates the contributions, commitments and sacrifices made by those parents individually and through the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.

Who are Gold Star Mothers?

The name the Gold Star Mothers was derived from the custom of military families who put a service flag near their front window. The flag featured a star for each family member serving in their country – living members were denoted in blue but gold stars honored family members who were killed while in duty. In 1918 President Woodrow Wilson approved the wearing of black arm bands bearing a gilt star by those who had a family member who died in the military service to the United States. This distinguished them from the blue stars, representing a family member presently serving in the armed forces.

American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. was incorporated in 1929, obtaining a federal charter from the US Congress. It began with 25 mothers living in the Washington DC area and soon expanded to include affiliated groups throughout the nation. On June 23, 1936, a joint congressional resolution designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day, a holiday that has been observed each year by a presidential proclamation. The gold star is not limited to mothers and is awarded as a pin by the US Department of Defense.

This information came from https://www.timeanddate.com