Origins of Memorial Day can be traced to Civil War

Memorial Day will be observed in Windham on Monday, May
30 and activities will include placing flags on the graves of
the town's veterans, a parade, a gathering at Windham High
School and a picnic at the Windham Veterans Center.
COURTESY PHOTO 

By Ed Pierce

Memorial Day will be celebrated on Monday and for many, the holiday marks the traditional start of summer and family gatherings spent outside grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. But the origins and actual meaning behind Memorial Day can be pinpointed to the Civil War and a way for Americans to pay tribute to those who lost their lives defending our nation.

On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, the head of an organization of Union veterans called the Grand Army of the Republic, created a special holiday called “Decoration Day” as a time for Americans to decorate the graves of those who died during the Civil War with flowers.

Logan had originally proposed the date of May 30 for “Decoration Day” because he believed was a date that flowers would be in bloom throughout America. He led that first celebration of “Decoration Day” that year at Arlington National Cemetery outside of Washington, D.C. and during his speech, Logan suggested that the public should guard soldier’s graves with sacred vigilance.

“Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners,” Logan said. “Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

A crowd attending the first “Decoration Day” ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was estimated to be about 5,000 as small American flags were placed on each grave. It is a tradition that is followed and carried down to this very day.

The custom of “Decoration Day” caught on nationwide, including in the Southern U.S. states where deceased Confederate soldiers were honored as well and by the end of the 19^th century, “Decoration Day” observances were commonplace across the nation.

Following the end of World War I in 1918, the holiday was expanded to include honoring all American soldiers who died during wars and renamed as “Memorial Day.”

The U.S. Congress declared “Memorial Day” as a national holiday in 1971 and it moved the holiday to officially be observed on the last Monday in May.  

In December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed legislation called “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance.

Its charter is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.

The National Moment of Remembrance asks all Americans to pause wherever they may be at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

Locally in Windham, there will be a parade and an observance to commemorate the day at Windham High School.

Windham’s Memorial Day Parade begins at 9 a.m. from the Town Hall on School Road and proceeds onto Route 202 in the direction of Windham High School.

At 10 a.m. the Memorial Day ceremony starts at Windham High School. The guest speaker this year is U.S. Army Lt Col. Wally Clark. The observance will include WHS band performances, a wreath laying, a bell tolling for Windham veterans lost this year and ceremonial burning of flags removed from veterans’ graves, followed by a traditional rifle salute and the playing of Taps. A picnic will follow at the Windham Veterans Center.

The public is invited to participate. <