tomboftheunknownsoldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

After the Civil War, various towns in both the North and the South began to decorate soldiers’ graves with flowers and flags.  These observances came to be known as Decoration Day.  This day was first formally recognized on May 30, 1868, when Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, a member of an organization of former Union veterans, proclaimed a day to honor the dead.  It is believed May 30 was chosen because flowers were in bloom nationwide.

It was another former Civil War general and later the twentieth president of the United States, James Garfield, who gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery that day.  He said, “We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”

By 1873, New York became the first state to make Memorial Day, as it slowly began to be called a legal holiday.  Other states would follow suit.  It wasn’t until after World War I ended in 1918 that the day changed from one honoring Civil War dead to one that honored those killed in all American wars.  In 1971, Congress established Memorial Day as a national holiday and declared it would fall on the last Monday in May.

Today, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, a tradition known as “Flags-in” occurs at Arlington National Cemetery.  Each year, soldiers of the Army’s 3rd Infantry (Old Guard) place small flags before the more than 260,000 gravestones and then patrol twenty-four hours a day to ensure the flags remain standing throughout the weekend.  The president or vice president traditionally lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day.

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Many Americans may not realize, but according to the U.S. flag code, American flags should be flown at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day and then raised to the top of the pole. Americans are asked to pause at 3:00 pm local time for a moment of remembrance.

The video below should remind all Americans of the cost of freedom:

Estimated number of military deaths through combat and other causes such as accidents and disease in American wars:

18th Century

Revolutionary War (1775 -1783) – 25,000

19th Century

War of 1812 (1812 – 1815) – 20,000

Mexican War (1846 – 1848) – 13,300

Civil War (1861 – 1865, both sides) – 620,000

Spanish-American War (1898) – 2,500

20th Century

World War I (1917 – 1918) = 116,000

World War II (1941 – 1945) = 405,400

Korean War (1950 – 1953) – 36,600

Vietnam War (1964 – 1973) – 58,200

Persian Gulf War (1990 – 1991) – 380

21st Century

Afghanistan War/Other worldwide locations (2001 – Present) – 2,535

Names of the 13 U.S. service members killed on August 26, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan:

Those killed on August 26, 2021

Iraq War (2003 – 2011) – 4,431

2 thoughts on “Memorial Day

  1. So if we are to have flags at half mast until noon and then raise them, how come I have never seen anyone in our government do this before? It would seem to me that if that is what is called for, then it should be done. That is not to start a debate on government doing what it should and why it doesnt. . . but for our flag and raising it at noon, seems rather simple.

    1. I do not know how many government buildings follow the flag raising at noon. Many government officials might not know about this. This comes from the U.S. Flag Code which is a series of recommendations about proper flag etiquette. These recommendations are not law.

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