Memorial Day – Remembering Our Fallen Heroes

General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic officially proclaimed Memorial Day on May 5, 1868 in his General Order No. 11. The first observance took place on May 30, 1868 with flowers placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Moina Michael in 1915 was inspired by the poem, “In Flanders Fields,” to write her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

It was Mona’s original idea to wear the red poppy to honor those that died serving our country though times of war. Several countries picked up this idea to sell artificial poppies to fund orphans and widows of war. This tradition is still carried out in the U.S. by the VFW. Disabled vets make the artificial poppies through their  “Buddy” Poppy program.

Over the years, many of us have lost sight of the true meaning of Memorial Day. We have been blessed that we are not in constant battle to protect our great country. The events of 9/11 struck home. We have five centuries of fallen patriots to honor for the lives we have today.

The “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed in Dec 2000 to re-educate and remind Americans what the true meaning of Memorial Day is. At 3 pm in your area, all Americans are asked to stop whatever they are doing and take a moment of silence or listen to Taps out of respect and honor in remembrance.

This Memorial Day remember and honor those Massachusetts heroes (or your state) we have lost in Iraq by visiting the Vets Friends pages.

Resource:

• http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
• http://www.vetfriends.com/memorial/mem_alphab.cfm?war_id=17&page_id=1&states_id=23