For years, Memorial Day was celebrated May 30. Then, in 1971, Congress passed the National Holiday Act moving most federal holidays to Mondays to ensure a three-day weekend. Since that time, Memorial Day has been observed on the last Monday in May.Today we stop to remember those that died protecting our freedoms. Memorial Day, which was originally called Decoration Day, is the official day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. Remembering fallen soldier dates clear back to civil war times. The first official day of observance was proclaimed on May 5th, 1868 by General john Logan who was the National Commander of the Grand Army and was first observed on May 30th, 1868 when folks got together to place flowers on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery President Lyndon Johnson and Congress made the day into a three-day weekend with the National Holiday Act of 1971 which calls for the day to be observed the last Monday of May each year.
We would like to say thank you to all of those that have died so that we might remain free. We all know that freedom isn’t free.
On Memorial Day, it is important that we do not to forget what the Marine Corps rabbi said at Iwo Jima:
ReplyDeleteHere lie men who loved America because their ancestors generations ago helped in her founding, and other men who loved her with equal passion because they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed shores. Here lie officers and men, Negroes and whites, rich men and poor ... together. Here are Protestants, Catholics and Jews together. Here no man prefers another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here there are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed. Among these men, there is no discrimination. No prejudices. No hatred. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy …
Whosoever of us lifts his hand in hate against a brother, or who thinks himself superior to those who happen to be in the minority, makes of this ceremony and the bloody sacrifice it commemorates, an empty, hollow mockery. To this, then, as our solemn duty, sacred duty do we the living now dedicate ourselves: to the right of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, of white men and Negroes alike, to enjoy the democracy for which all of them have here paid
the price …
We here solemnly swear that this shall not be in vain. Out of this and from the suffering and sorrow of those who mourn this will come, we promise, the birth of a new freedom for the sons of men everywhere.
For the complete story behind this sermon and the bigoted attempt to ban it, please see: http://tinyurl.com/6nbewr5