In the truest spirit of the “holiday”, there’s nothing happy about Memorial Day. In fact, Memorial Day, observed yesterday, is, and should be, the most somber “holiday” of the year.
The dictionary definition of holiday is “a day of festivity, or recreation when no work is done.” But what we now know as Memorial Day, though observed since the 1860s every year but called Decoration Day, didn’t become a federal holiday until 1971 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Uniform Federal Holiday Act (UFHA). The Act moved several national observances, Washington’s Birthday, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, and Columbus Day, to a Monday each year to make 3-day weekends for Federal Employees out of the observances.
One of the earliest commemorations appears to have been held by recently freed African American slaves immediately after the Civil War ended. About 1,000 of them gathered to consecrate a new burial ground for 250 Union soldiers who had died in a prisoner of war camp at a former racetrack in Charleston, South Carolina. There is nothing in the official record about that event, but research from various places mention it.
Officially, in the years following the Civil War, Americans across the country were encouraged each year on May 30, to decorate the graves of the hundreds of thousands (620,000) of soldiers who died in the war between the states. Decoration Day, as it was called, became an official observance in 27 states each year. By 1890, every state of the former Union adopted it as a state holiday.
It wasn’t until Americans found themselves embroiled in World War I, in which 116,519 Americans died, that Decoration Day began to include honoring all American military members who made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. The Decoration Day tradition continued to include the 405,399 who lost their lives in World War II, the 36,516 fallen heroes from the Korean War, the 58,209 casualties of the Vietnam War, and the 7,075 members of our American military who most recently lost their lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror.
It’s easy today to lose track of the real reason this last Monday of May is set aside for remembrance and reflection. It’s easy to get lost in the excitement of a 3-day weekend when you’re still working, or a fun, picnic day with family and friends. It’s easy to look forward to the retail sales if you’re looking for a new sofa or mattress or patio furniture. It’s easy to look forward to the unofficial beginning of summer and commemorating that with a party till you puke attitude (as happened every year at the Lake of the Ozarks when we were living there). It’s easy to forget how awful and life changing war is, how those who fought, and died for the freedom we enjoy in this country, and their families were adversely affected by war and death.
It’s hard to contemplate and understand the meaning of sacrifice…an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy…especially as it applies to what we remember on Memorial Day. But that’s what we should do. In December 2003, President Bill Clinton signed a law to encourage all Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day to remember those who lost their lives while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Until I started researching this topic, I had no idea there’s a LAW encouraging us to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. You never hear about that. Wouldn’t it be cool if Rooms to Go put that reminder at the top of their flyer advertising the Memorial Day furniture sale? Not going to happen.
When we moved to Missouri in 1998, I was surprised, and impressed, by how many of our new friends had a family tradition to visit the cemetery to decorate the graves of kin on Memorial Day. Some may have been veterans who died in the service of their country, but most were just folks they made a special point to remember on Memorial Day. The cemeteries in central Missouri were always so colorful every summer. Though not technically the stated purpose of the holiday, it was closer to authentic than the retail sale, BBQ, and parties that many people turn the day into.
As veterans who, thankfully, served primarily in peacetime (Randy did catch just the end of the Vietnam War, but never saw combat) Randy and I are acutely aware of what we signed up for. We love this country where we grew up in freedom and a sense that anything is possible. We remember our oath of enlistment, in which we swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States (not the president, not the people, not our superior officers), against all enemies, foreign and domestic…. That oath doesn’t expire. We see clearly, watching the news, that America is overrun with domestic enemies and the drums of war are beating in the distance. We pray for America and ask God to never add another member of the Armed Forces to remember on future Memorial Days.
P.S. Still struggling with the aftereffects of the surgery 4 weeks ago. It’s likely I’ll have to head back to the Operating Room for a second surgery. I covet your continued prayer.
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