Memorial Day...a brief history.



Civil War monument in St Augustine, Florida

Today is Memorial Day, a national holiday that was started as a way to honor those who gave their lives during the Civil War.  At first, many southern states did not embrace this holiday preferring to set aside days of their own choosing for remembering the Confederate war dead.  If you travel in the south, you can still see the various monuments  sacred to the memory of the young men who died in what was often called "The War of Northern Aggression" by the remaining veterans of that war.  More American lives were lost in that war than any other...both sides were basically Americans. This monument was erected by the Ladies' Memorial Association of St. Augustine, Florida in the years following the war.  An inscription on it reads:" They have crossed over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees."...a nice sentiment.  On another side are listed the 44 names of local men who died in the war and the year and place of their demise.

The Arch at Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn

In my hometown of New York, one of the most familiar landmarks in Brooklyn is part of a memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic: The Soldiers and Sailors Arch located at the confluence of Flatbush Avenue, Eastern Parkway and Vanderbilt Avenue . It is part of what is commonly called Grand Army Plaza.  The structure is 80 feet wide and 80 feet high; the internal arch is 50 feet high and about 30 feet wide. My home state of New York was the first state to establish Memorial Day, then called Decoration Day because that is when you "decorated" the graves of the fallen, as a national holiday in 1873


It was only after World War I that the entire country came on board with Memorial Day.


So, you've had your little history lesson.  Let us remember those who fought valiantly for their country, and have thus provided us with the freedoms we often take for granted.


Now, go and enjoy the wonderful sunshine.