Why Do We Have Memorial Day?

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. This day of commemoration began after the Civil War when Americans wanted to remember the men who fought and died. At that time, May 30 was known as “Decoration Day” because it was a day to decorate the graves.

As the years passed, the day became a day to honor the dead from all the wars and became known as Memorial Day. In 1968, it became a three-day weekend when the federal government moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May. Dakota Wood wrote the following about commemorating Memorial Day. 

People are the heart of a nation’s strength, especially those comparatively few who step forward to serve their community and their country in military service. Wars are rather rare, but the nation’s future can hang in the balance when war comes and the loss of life that results in defeating an enemy can number in the thousands, sometimes the tens of thousands.

Our history is punctuated with such crises and sacrifices. Citizen-patriots rose to the challenge of securing America’s birth nearly 250 years ago, with some 8,000 new Americans giving their all to defend our fledgling republic.

The Civil War, two world wars, operations against terrorists who have attacked America at home and Americans abroad, and wars to protect U.S. interests not just in our hemisphere but also in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, have resulted in the loss of nearly 700,000 Americans.

These men and women did not seek death; it came to them through their service. Their motivations included protecting the lives of those they loved; defending their homeland that has provided opportunity and freedom previously unknown in history; and facing dangers loyally alongside their brothers and sisters with whom they trained, deployed, and surged into combat as they answered their nation’s call.

Wood reminded his readers that every fallen warrior was “someone’s son or daughter; they might have been a husband or wife, father or mother, sister or brother. They were surely friends.” He continued, “They meant something to someone, and their loss struck deep to those whose lives they touched.” Wood explained that it is the loss of someone important who gave rise to ways to remember the fallen warriors. These memorials included “cemeteries dedicated to their internment; poems, books, songs, and speeches written in their honor; and specific occasions, like Memorial Day, set aside on which to reflect on all of this.”

Like Wood, I encourage my readers to take time on Memorial Day to show gratitude for the thousands (millions ??) of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for you and me. Those heroes include those who fought to establish our nation, to maintain our union, and to defend our nation for more than 250 years.