Every year on the last Monday in May, our nation celebrates Memorial Day. The day of remembrance was originally established by the Memorial Day Act as “Decoration Day.” The first national ceremony took place on May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
There, the Grand Army of the Republic honored more than 11,000 white and Black Union soldiers, along with 350 Confederate soldiers buried there following what we now call the Civil War. The date was originally chosen because it was when the choicest springtime flowers could be found across the nation.
General James A. Garfield, a Congressman and later the 20th President of the United States, spoke, prayers were said, hymns and dirges were sung, and the Gettysburg Address was recited. Finally, the "Star-Spangled Banner" was played and children of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Asylum were "deployed...to the decoration of the graves throughout the cemetery, strewing flowers and raising miniature flags over the graves."
Memorial Day
While there is no form or ceremony prescribed for Memorial Day, the tradition of placing flags and flowers continues to this day at every military cemetery across the United States. In the early days, federal employees were granted permission to skip work to attend the ceremonies.
The original holiday was designated solely for those who died during the War Between the States, but after the Great War (WWI), President Woodrow Wilson expanded Memorial Day to honor those who died in all American wars.
In 1950, a Congressional joint resolution requested the President to issue a proclamation, “calling upon the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period during each such day when the people of the United States might unite in such supplication."
Memorial Day didn’t become an official federal holiday until 1971 after President Lyndon B Johnson signed into law the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
In 2000, the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance asked citizens to "give back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity" by celebrating Memorial Day. They also endorsed a National Moment of Remembrance. At 3 pm local time each Memorial Day, we observe a minute of silence for those who have died in service to the nation.
It’s NOT Veteran’s Day
In recent years, there has been a bit of confusion surrounding Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and apparently, Labor Day. Part of that stems from the very law that made Memorial Day official, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. While three of these holidays fall on Monday, and some of the official and unofficial events are similar, they all serve different purposes.
The easiest one is Labor Day. Labor Day celebrates American workers and the union movement that helped shape the modern workplace. It happens at the end of the summer every year.
Veterans Day honors all Veterans, past, present, and future, living and dead. It was originally Armistice Day, marking the end of the War to End All Wars. Unfortunately, that name proved to be the opposite of prophetic, and after World War II and the Korean Conflict, President Dwight D. Eisenhower rebranded Armistice Day as Veterans Day. It happens in November.
Memorial Day is just for the fallen soldiers. While it is always appropriate to thank military veterans for their service, it is customary to refrain from doing so on Memorial Day, as it is intended to honor the dead. Those who gave all.
Honoring the Fallen
While backyard BBQs are always fun, Memorial Day is often considered a more somber event. Since it is to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, many go to cemeteries and memorial services to pay their respect to the soldiers who died defending our freedom and the freedom of others. Some people still cook out, but often the morning at least is spent laying flowers on the graves of soldiers, or walking among the gravestones, meditating on the loss.
Some communities still host parades, national park events, and even gatherings around the local bandstand for stump speeches. Locally, we have several events around the major cities on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
The annual ceremony at Patriots Park in Venice, FL begins at 10am on Monday, May 25, with a rifle salute, TAPS, and appearances from local veterans' organizations. Bradenton will host their annual Memorial Day service at Don Courtney Veterans’ Monument Park on the Riverwalk at 9 am.
The annual Memorial Day parade will take place in downtown Sarasota starting at 10am. The parade will include performances by the Sarasota Military Academy band and participation from color guards, first responders, local law enforcement agencies, and veterans’ groups. In Fort Myers, Memorial Gardens will host their annual service at 9:30am.
Good News Pest Solutions will be closed on Monday, May 25 in commemoration of this important day, but our highly trained staff and technicians will be on duty the rest of the week for treatments or pest emergencies. As always, if you need us, you can just give us a call!