Memorial Day

A special dedication for all the brave servicemen of the United States Military and thier families who have sacraficed so much for the cause of freedom and liberty in thier stuggle to free the world from the evils of communism and islamofascism.


Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

Flag Etiquette: The US flag is to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to noon. At noon the flag should be totally lowered and then hoisted to full staff. If you have a flag flying from your home and are not able to lower your flag to half staff, a black ribbon should be tied to the top of the flagpole above the US flag and displayed until noon. At noon the ribbon should be removed.

A little bit of history: Memorial Day 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, and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The south refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just the dead who died fighting the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every state on the last Monday of May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 to ensure a three-day weekend for Federal holidays).

Interesting Facts: Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, approximately 1,200 soldiers of the 3d USInfantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.

Education: To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on December 2000 which asks that at 3 pm, local time, for all Americans to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of Remberance and Respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence. The Moment of Remembrance is a step in the right direction to return the meaning back into this upcoming holiday.