Saluting our fallen can happen in many forms.
Monday is Memorial Day, when our nation pays respects to the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for country.
It is important to separate Memorial Day the meaningful holiday from Memorial Day Weekend the annual vacation-picnic-camping trip-unofficial start of summer aspect of this American tradition.
Enjoy your outing, but think about what is truly involved.
Fying the flag is the simplest way to express respect.
Attending Monday’s 11 a.m. ceremony at Idlewilde Cemetery is another. This solemn yet colorful occasion is typically well-attended, but seats are always available. It happens rain-or-shine, so appropriate gear is in order, though the forecast is for 74 and cloudy.
If you can’t make the ceremony, take a minute at some point in the day to consider the valor and dedication that Memorial Day is truly about. The National Moment of Remembrance resolution passed by Congress in 2000 recommends that at 3 p.m. local time, Americans “voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of Remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps.”
The purpose of Memorial Day might be a little muddled, and so are its origins, according to memorialday.org:
“Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo, N.Y., was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.
“Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear — Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.”
On Monday at the service and at all public buildings, the flag of the United States will be raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to half-staff, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder the day.
The half-staff positon remembers the more than one million men and women who have given their lives in service. At noon, their memory is raised by the living,
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