I remember (Memorial Day)

[moyer777]

Hey all!

It is Memorial day here in the United States.  I am curious, does anyone do anything special today?

I am thinking about taking some flowers up to the cemetery and remembering a few people I miss. 

I have three grandparents buried at the same place, and then over across town I have some very special folks that are buried there.  One of the guys is someone that got me into recording and music when I was just a little kid. 

Anyway, do you ever go and visit the cemetery?  Do you have a picnic or bbq?  Do anything special for Memorial Day? 

We took a few minutes yesterday during church and remembered all those who had died fighting for our freedom and prayed for the families that had lost loved ones.

Here is a little blurb on Memorial day.  I found this on an internet site.

    It was 1866 and the United States was recovering from the long and bloody Civil War between the North and the South. Surviving soldiers came home, some with missing limbs, and all with stories to tell. Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, New York, heard the stories and had an idea. He suggested that all the shops in town close for one day to honor the soldiers who were killed in the Civil War and were buried in the Waterloo cemetery. On the morning of May 5, the townspeople placed flowers, wreaths and crosses on the graves of the Northern soldiers in the cemetery. At about the same time, Retired Major General Jonathan A. Logan planned another ceremony, this time for the soldiers who survived the war. He led the veterans through town to the cemetery to decorate their comrades' graves with flags. It was not a happy celebration, but a memorial. The townspeople called it Decoration Day.
In Retired Major General Logan's proclamation of Memorial Day, he declared:
"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 and during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit."
The two ceremonies were joined in 1868, and northern states commemorated the day on May 30. The southern states commemorated their war dead on different days. Children read poems and sang civil war songs and veterans came to school wearing their medals and uniforms to tell students about the Civil War. Then the veterans marched through their home towns followed by the townspeople to the cemetery. They decorated graves and took photographs of soldiers next to American flags. Rifles were shot in the air as a salute to the northern soldiers who had given their lives to keep the United States together.

In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day and soldiers who had died in previous wars were honored as well. In the northern United States, it was designated a public holiday. In 1971, along with other holidays, President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday on the last Monday in May.
Cities all around the United States hold their own ceremonies on the last Monday in May* to pay respect to the men and women who have died in wars or in the service of their country.
Memorial Day is not limited to honor only those Americans from the armed forces. It is also a day for personal remembrance. Families and individuals honor the memories of their loved ones who have died. Church services, visits to the cemetery, flowers on graves or even silent tribute mark the day with dignity and solemnity. It is a day of reflection. However, to many Americans the day also signals the beginning of summer with a three-day weekend to spend at the beach, in the mountains or at home relaxing.
In Waterloo, New York, the origin has not been lost and in fact the meaning has become even more special. President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed Waterloo the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966, 100 years after the first commemoration. Every May 30, townspeople still walk to the cemeteries and hold memorial services. They decorate the graves with flags and flowers. Then they walk back to the park in the middle of town. In the middle of the park, near a monument dedicated to soldiers, sailors and marines, the Gettysburg address is read, followed by Retired Major General Logan's Order # 11 designating Decoration Day. The village choirs sing patriotic songs. In the evening, school children take part in a parade.

Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia is the nation's largest national cemetery. Not only are members of the armed forces buried here; astronauts, explorers and other distinguished Americans have all been honored with a special place here. President John F. Kennedy is buried in a spot overlooking Washington, D.C.
Here in the early hours of the Friday morning before Memorial Day, soldiers of the Third U.S. infantry walk along the rows of headstones. Each soldier stops at a headstone, reaches to a bundle of flags he is carrying, pulls one out and pushes it into the ground. These soldiers are part of a special regiment. the Old Guard. Most consider it a privilege to place flags on the more than two hundred thousand graves of soldiers who served in the wars or who died in them. "They have done their job," said one soldier, "and now it's my turn to do mine."
It is an equal honor to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier all year. There are actually four soldiers buried in this spot: the unknown soldiers of the two World Wars, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam War. Each soldier represents all of those who gave their lives in the modern wars. Soldiers from the Army's Third Infantry guard the tomb twenty-four hours a day. Wreath-laying ceremonies take place all through the year and people from all over the world come to watch the changing of the guard. On another hill of Arlington Cemetery there is a mass grave of unidentified soldiers from the Civil War.

On Memorial Day, the President or Vice President of the United States gives a speech and lays a wreath on the tombs. Members of the armed forces shoot a rifle salute in the air. Veterans and families come to lay their own wreaths and say prayers. There is a chance that one of the soldiers buried here is a father, son, brother or friend. 

[Blackride]

Our family gets together for a BBQ. Too bad it going to rain here in Cleveland all day.

[Jen]

Our family usually gets together but we haven't in a year or so. I've taken flowers to my college campus's war memorial...I should do so more often.

[billybob476]

In Canada we have Remembrance Day on November 11th. I used to be in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets (kind of like the Civil Air Patrol for you guys I think) and I used to guard the cenotaph during the ceremonies. Standing at "rest on arms" with a rifle on propped on your boot for 2 hours isn't always fun but I figured it was the least I could do to honor those that made the supreme sacrifice.

[moyer777]

Just got back from our little memorial day trip.  I took this picture from the top of one of the cemetery's you can see all the way to the bay.  Nice. 

Stopped and got some baby back ribs to bbq, going to plant some beets and two tomatoe plants now, clean out a shed and wash the car!  WOO HOO!  Getting ready to paint the house on my vacation.  I got my paint from Home Depot.  Should be fun!

[Rico]

Nice picture Rick.  Very moving.

[Jen]

Nice picture Rick.  Very moving.

Yes. Beautiful scene. :)