Always Remember, Never Forget

By Mark C. Healey

Even for those of us who have family members who have served in our country’s Armed Forces, there are times during this festive holiday weekend that our minds fail to comprehend what Memorial Day really represents.

According to a recent White House study, more than 70 percent of Americans don’t know what Memorial Day actually commemorates. But rather than pontificate about how tragic that state of affairs is, let me take a different tone.

As we display our flags and other patriotic decorations in anticipation of the traditional kickoff to summer, perhaps we can take a few moments to comprehend why we are doing so.

The origins of Memorial Day began in 1865, as shortly after the end of the Civil War, a parade of freed slaves and Union soldiers marched through Charleston, South Carolina in 1865.

The following year, on May 5, General John Murray, in a speech he gave in Waterloo, New York, called on all communities to honor the war dead every year. He had been impressed with how people in the South had honored fallen Confederate soldiers, and thought it appropriate that the country should adopt a similar tradition.

It wasn’t until 1868, when another general, John Logan, the head of the prominent veterans group, the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a proclamation that called for the graves of fallen soldiers be adorned with flowers. He called it “Decoration Day,” and said it should be observed nationwide on May 30 every year. The date was specifically chosen because it was not on the anniversary of any major battle at that time, and flowers would be readily available. However, because of the Southern origin of the idea, many communities did not observe “Decoration Day” due to lingering resentments from the Civil War.

Shortly after the end of World War II, the alternative “Memorial Day,” became more commonly used. But it wasn’t until 1967 that the day became a federal holiday.

Here endeth the history lesson, but the sentiment should remain.

Like many parts of the country, Rockaway has lost young people to the horrors of war. Yet, there will be parades, barbecues and other celebrations that will have “Memorial Day” attached to their title, but will have little to do with what the day represents.

More than one million American military service members have died in wars that our nation has fought since the first colonial soldiers took up arms in 1775, and we must find even the most simple of ways to honor their sacrifice.

We owe them no less.