05/25/2026
Memorial Day-
Did you know that the Civil War claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history? This required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.
On May 5, 1868, General John Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance.
He stated:
“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.”
Logan declared this day as Decoration Day and chose May 30th because it wasn’t the anniversary of any Civil War battle.
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. This changed after World War I, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Grand Army of the Republic veterans at the annual Memorial Day Parade in New York City, May 1922
For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30th, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968, Congress passed the 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
May we honor today those brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
