The Meaning of Memorial Day

[usmcstinger]

Memorial Day is a solemn day of remembrance of those brave men and women who gave their lives for our country ( There But For the Grace of God Go I ).
Those who lost loved ones in our nations wars clearly understand what this day is about.
I have not forgotten those members of the 2nd Plt. C Co. 1st Bn 4th Marines who did not come home. It was a honor to have fought along side them in Vietnam.

Until 1971, Memorial Day was observed on May 30th of each year.

Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2014/may/24/memorial-day/
As eloquently stated by Senator Inouye* ( in his introductory remarks to the bill he introduced in 1999: )
"Mr. President, in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer. My bill would restore Memorial Day to May 30. and authorize our flag to fly at half mast on that day. In addition, this legislation would authorize the President to issue a proclamation designating Memorial Day and Veterans Day as days for prayer and ceremonies honoring American veterans. This legislation would help restore the recognition our veterans deserve for the sacrifices they have made on behalf of our nation." (1999 Congressional Record, page
Memorial Day
*The now deceased Senator Inouye served in combat during WWII and was awarded the
Congressional Medal Honor for Heroism.

On Memorial Day we do not honor those who survived our nation's wars that would be Veterans Day. Some people are confused about the two days.

 

[waltky]

History of Arlington National Cemetary...

Arlington National Cemetery, and the fight over Robert E. Lee's home
May 25, 2014 ~ Union Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs detested Robert E. Lee, who had once been his friend and mentor, even his idol. Once Lee defected to the Confederate side, Meigs turned against him with a vengeance. Because of that dynamic, today we have Arlington National Cemetery.

As quartermaster general and close adviser to Lincoln, Meigs was often consulted on matters of logistics. When the need arose for a new military cemetery, he recommended Arlington House — which was owned by Lee's wife, Mary. The military was already occupying the estate, and it was conveniently close to Washington. It also offered the opportunity to make sure the Lees would never want to return to their home. As the tombstones began to fill the long sloping hill in front of the house, Meigs announced that he was "grimly satisfied." But then he inflicted one more wound: He ordered that bodies be buried in Mary Lee's much-prized rose garden, right next to the mansion. When that didn't happen fast enough, he personally drew the lines for several graves and directed the excavations.

The east front of Arlington House, Robert E. Lee's beloved home, with Union soldiers on the lawn, is seen on June 28, 1864. The estate became a cemetery because Union Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs detested Lee and wanted to make sure the Lees never returned to their home.

George Washington Parke Custis built Arlington House atop the highest point of land on his 1,100-acre estate, across the river from the capital. Custis, a wealthy man and George Washington's adopted grandson, who had inherited several plantations and hundreds of slaves, intended his home to be conspicuous. He achieved his goal: a 140-foot-wide house with eight 23-foot-tall columns on the portico that was then, and remains, visible from across the Potomac River in Washington. Custis carved an English-style park out of the 200-acre parcel of woods that faced Washington. Bridle and walking trails wound through the cultivated meadows and grassy lawns, anchored by groves of oaks and chestnuts. Stone benches gave visitors a place to rest and admire the view.

It was in the Arlington House parlor that Custis's daughter, Mary Anna, wed Lt. Robert E. Lee in 1831. Although the couple moved often with each new posting, Arlington House was always home to them. Six of their seven children were born there. When her parents died, Mary Lee inherited the estate in 1857. Robert Lee took time off from the Army to make repairs and improvements to the house and grounds.

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The story of Sergeant Stubby, WWI's most decorated dog
May 24, 2014 ~ On July 6, 1921, a curious gathering took place at the State, War, and Navy Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. The occasion was a ceremony honoring veterans of the 102nd Infantry of the American Expeditionary Forces' 26th "Yankee" Division, who had seen action in France during the Great War. The hall was packed with dozens of members of the 102nd — field clerks, infantrymen, generals — but one soldier in particular commanded the spotlight. The attention seemed to bother him; The New York Times reported that the soldier was "a trifle gun shy, and showed some symptoms of nervous excitement." When photographers snapped his picture, he flinched.

The ceremony was presided over by Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American forces in Europe during the war. Pershing made a short speech, noting the soldier's "heroism of highest caliber" and "bravery under fire." The general solemnly lifted an engraved solid gold medal from its case and pinned it to the hero's uniform. In response, the Times reported, the solider "licked his chops and wagged his diminutive tail."

Sergeant Stubby, a short brindle bull terrier mutt, was officially a decorated hero of World War I. The award was not a formal U.S. military commendation, but it symbolically confirmed Stubby, who'd also earned one wound stripe and three service stripes, as the greatest war dog in the nation's history. According to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, he was the first dog ever given rank in the U.S. Army. His glory was even hailed in France, which also presented him with a medal.

Sergeant Stubby, a short brindle bull terrier mutt, was officially decorated a hero of World War I. Regarded as the greatest war dog in the nation's history, he earned one wound stripe and three service stripes.

Millions of Americans heard tales of Stubby's courage. He had reportedly comforted wounded warriors on bullet-strafed battlefields. It was said he could sniff out poison gas, barking warnings to doughboys in the trenches. He even captured a German soldier. These exploits made the dog nothing less than a celebrity. He met three sitting presidents, traveled the nation to veterans' commemorations, and performed in vaudeville shows, earning $62.50 for three days of theatrical appearances, more than twice the weekly salary of the average American. For nearly a decade after the war until his death in 1926, Stubby was the most famous animal in the United States.

"Stubby's history overseas," a Waterbury, Connecticut, newspaper wrote in 1922, "is the story of almost any average doughboy." But of course Stubby was not a doughboy, and his renown was anything but average. Despite his postwar stardom, Stubby has faded from memory in the century since the war commenced. But his story is worth revisiting, and not just as a cute, curious footnote. Stubby's tale offers a glimpse of the American Army as it prepared to fight its first modern war — and later, of a bruised nation as it commemorated a victory obtained at unthinkable human costs.

A mutt goes to Yale