A Day To Remember

This Monday we will take a day off from work in order to remember and reflect upon those who have given their lives in order that we as Americans can live in a country of freedom.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 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 May 30, 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 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.
Michelia & I recently had the opportunity to visit Washington DC in preparation for our trip this summer. As we visited Arlington National cemetery we were reminded of the great number of people who have died in battle while preserving America's freedom.


We also visited the Vietnam Memorial where we saw names by the ten of thousands. Names of those lost in a single war. I took a picture of my cousin Larry Riley's name on the wall. The wall is a stark reminder of just how far men will go to serve their country and fight for freedom. I hope you'll take moment this weekend and remember those who have served in the armed services and paid the ultimate price for freedom, as well as those men and women who are currently serving in the armed forces.

A sweet lady in my Senior Adult choir gave me a rose bush last year for my birthday. It was one of the first to bloom this season. It is coincidently named "Peace".

Until then,
Buck <><