I hope you all find something here that might interest you.
Not nearly enough has been done in Support of Our Military and Country all these past years, and not enough has been stressed on personal responsibilities for Patriotic & American-Civil Duty , to be ;
- More Cognizant of the Sacrifices of Our Brave Military; both Past & Present,
- Being more involved and Pro-active in Support of Them and Their Families and the Brave Veterans that are thankfully still with us today, and...
- Here I have at least tried to cover as much information for others to look into of the History of this Honored Holiday and the other many possibilities and opportunities for others too to get involved and participate in to honor this day.
God Bless America...
"...Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country...."
First Observance in D.C.
"...The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
"...The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns...."
Of Course...The Ceremony to Honor Those who had Died for their Nation goes way back to when Man's Early Civilizations were in their Conquest & Glory days...
"....The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation’s wars: “Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.”- Early History of Memorial Day -VA.Gov History
The get a real History and Sequence of all Wars and Information on them Please see: the Department of Veteran Affairs Fact Sheet and History of America's Wars.
An Historical Note: Families & Businesses had seen a need for Citizens to Communicate " Best Wishes " between themselves BEFORE any such Organized Institution or Gov't Department had taken any steps to Recognize Great Events in America's Great Sacrifices : by those who had contributed to it's History with either Great Deeds or their Blood-Via the MAIL and POST CARDS.
American Tradition of Sending Friends,Neighbors and Loved One POST CARDS to Remember All Great American Events and Wishes between Families concerning them...why has it stopped?
You Are Remembered...
"...It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays...."- usmemorialday.org
It is from the early beginnings that Patriotic Americans Honored those Fallen Military who had lost their lives from BOTH the North & the South after the Civil War---
"...There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead"
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. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868.
”…Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 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 30 May 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 those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). , though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee”. -usmemorialday.org
Yet some other information has been uncovered concerning other various unknown facts about the early "Treatment" ( or lack of ) of All Civil War Grave sites...
"...Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.
Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.
So actually a pretty good amount of time had transpired between from the ending of the Civil War, through the GREAT WAR : World War One, and from when It was known has Decoration Day - through to World War Two until an Actual FEDERAL HOILDAY was created for an Official MEMORIAL DAY.
"...By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities.-usmemorialday.org
"...It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays)..."
"...To ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act ,” P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission’s charter is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance...."
"....The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day....”
On Memorial Day- I had just wanted to showcase some of what I consider the Best and most moving of America's Great Memorials to those who have sacrificed for this Great Country!
World War Two Memorial in D.C.
Iwo Jima Memorial: The Raising of The American Flag -Operation Detachment
Korean War Memorial in D.C.
Memorial For Women in the Military who had Died in War-Vietnam.
But the ONE that still to this day has NOT had the Proper and Dignified Attention it Should have been deserving and should be deserving is the Following:( Please click the link below and read if you are not already aware of this story. Thank You.)
The Merchant Mariners Wreath
Operation Desert Storm
Enduring Freedom Memorial
For the Victims of the Beruit Embassey Bombing
U.S.S. Cole Memorial
For those who had been murdered while in Reserves or Service or VET on September 11th-President Bush lays a wreath at Flight 93's site while the Monument is still being finalized elsewhere.
While the picture on the Right is a representation of the Future Pentagon Memorial as seen from the air ; Rows of Red Trees interceded with bright metal sculptures on a sea of Green Grass. Although there will be many more future Memorials too for all site concerning September 11th.
A Memorial for those Serving who Gave their lives on September 11th's Cowardly attack: at the pentagon or on Flight 77 or Flight 93
"...There are a few notable exceptions. Since the late 50's on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry 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. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Memorial Day, the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts place a candle at each of approximately 15,300 grave sites of soldiers buried at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park on Marye's Heights (the Luminaria Program). And in 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years. ..." – usmemorialday.org
National Pride and Civic Duty of Everyone: Should be a Daily Issue and not reserved for when we happen to just remember in between a Three-Day Weekend.
Flaunders Fields-World War One
"...This was the poem written by World War I Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada 's First Brigade Artillery. It expressed McCrae's grief over the "row on row" of graves of soldiers who had died on Flanders' battlefields, located in a region of western Belgium and northern France. The poem presented a striking image of the bright red flowers blooming among the rows of white crosses and became a rallying cry to all who fought in the First World War. The first printed version of it reportedly was in December 1915, in the British magazine Punch...." -usmemorialday.org
McCrae's poem had a huge impact on two women, Anna E. Guerin of France and Georgia native Moina Michael. Both worked hard to initiate the sale of artificial poppies to help orphans and others left destitute by the war. By the time Guerin established the first sale in the U.S., in 1920 with the help of The American Legion, the poppy was well known in the allied countries — America, Britain, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — as the "Flower of Remembrance." Proceeds from that first sale went to the American and French Children's League.
VFW Volunteers; REAL AMERICANS, With help of Local Youths , do Their Civil Duty.
The Buddy Poppy program is still growing and alive and will continue to do so as long as the next generations of youth are allowed to learn all about American History and to join “All who have unselfishly volunteered for such Noble causes as keeping the memory of past Heroes alive and aiding those working to help raise awareness of the Sacrifices of our Past Military.
"...There is a Myth about the origin of Taps and it’s History that is circulating about the Internet. The true story is that in July 1862, after the Seven Days battles at Harrison's Landing (near Richmond), Virginia, the wounded Commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, General Daniel Butterfield reworked, with his bugler Oliver Wilcox Norton, another bugle call, "Scott Tattoo," to create Taps. He thought that the regular call for Lights Out was too formal. Taps was adopted throughout the Army of the Potomac and finally confirmed by orders. Soon other Union units began using Taps, and even a few Confederate units began using it as well. After the war, Taps became an official bugle call. Col. James A. Moss, in his Officer's Manual first published in 1911, gives an account of the initial use of Taps at a military funeral:
"During the Peninsular Campaign in 1862, a soldier of Tidball's Battery A of the 2nd Artillery was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was unsafe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave, on account of the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Capt. Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most appropriate ceremony that could be substituted." – usmemorialday.org
More about the true history of Taps can be found at: 24 Notes That Tap Deep Emotions and at Military District of Washington Fact Sheet: Origins of Taps"
"...Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country. ..."- usmemorialday.org
If you wish to research any additonal information on any of America's Great Armed Services and what They Have Planned for Memorial Day too; here are some Very Interesting Links and Informational / Historical Sites :
The "Memorial" in Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us who are beneficiaries of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Often we do not observe the day as it should be, a day where we actively remember our ancestors, our family members, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our friends who have given the ultimate sacrifice:
* By visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
* By knowing proper Flag Presentation and by flying the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.
* By flying the 'POW/MIA Flag' as well (Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act).
* By participating in a "National Moment of Remembrance"
And to pause and Think upon the True meaning of the day.
* For Taps to be played.
* By renewing a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our fallen dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.
* By Writing into the White House in Support of President Bush’s initiatives to Further Strengthen our Nation’s Support for Our Veterans! And Writing to Our elected Senators and those in Congress voicing our support for them too!
On April 14, 2005, two Marines walked up to my door, where my wife Angie was home alone. They came to tell her that her son was seriously wounded, they then notified me at work to come home but would not say what part of Eddie’s body had been hurt and how. As I pulled up the driveway, the Marines, were waiting for me, that’s when they gave me the news that Eddie had been shot twice in the head. Condition was Critical to Grave on the initial P.C. report. There aren’t words to describe the next 24 hours as we waited to hear more.
Today, Eddie is in Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, NY, he’s up to 193 lbs!! His condition today is evident in the pictures on this web site, you can see his muscles coming back in his arms, chest and neck. He is able to sit up in his wheel chair and has full use of his left arm. In his right arm he has limited use, his legs move but he is not walking yet, however, they stood him up yesterday in ½ hour increments with a total of 1/½ hours!!
As for him not remembering us, God answered our prayers, that was definitely our main prayer after asking God for his life. Eddie has full memory and knows the person of everyone who comes to visit him that he knew before. We talk about his childhood and he remembers it all, he has a sense of humor and his sister Felicia makes him laugh all the time. His speech is limited, at this point but he is starting to say complete sentences and initiating thoughts. It's getting close to the time we will need to bring him home and it's not ready yet.
We thank you all for your prayers first and foremost, and the financial help you have given. Chris Ryan, Eddie’s father
p> As you can see with Sgt. Eddie Ryan’s Brave Fight : with the Inner Strength & Courage of Our Brave Military both ; In Combat Defending Our Nation and it’s Principles of Freedom and, when facing their own Herculean Struggles when they return home wounded –with Our Support Together we All form a team where Miracles can happen and ALL of us can make a Difference!
A Big “THANK YOU” from the Ryan Family for everyone’s help! And please stay in touch and help any other Returning Solder who may need your help any, any! difficulties they may be having!
And ADOPT OUR TROOPS IN PRAYER! PRAYERS are ALSO needed too as they, along with your Donations, are what makes Miracles happen everyday when We all Come together and Give Our Support! Prayers : for those no longer with us and Prayers for those who Need Our help Now. As I know many on the Free Republic Site already do!
* Support Our Troops in Any way that they may need help in- that not all of them may be willing to discuss.Go Talk with THEM ! Let them KNOW that you respect them and honor them for all their Sacrifices! And while Thanking Them for their Service-ask if there IS anything you can do for them.
There’s Plenty that can be done to aid Present Veterans to Honor the Fallen Heroes of American too:
* NATIONAL COALITION FOR HOMELESS VETS
And the W.A.B.C. / Sean Hannity Freedom Concert held every year, with Now An East & West Coast Concert this year!
The is so Much more I could add here and I must say that in researching for this Post ; I found Incredibly Brave , but Extra-Ordinary, Above Average, Concerned Citizens and their sites- who have volunteered in one way or another to help Re-Energize the Memory and Honor of Memorial Day—and Helped to bring to the forefront the Memories of All the Unselfish Sacrifices made by America’s Courageous Military in All the many forms that they have served and perished in.
I hope that all of you have been as deeply touched and moved as I was when I originally looked at & into some of these photos and stories.
And while here I probably am Preaching to the choir when it comes down to reminding people to Respect and Honor those who we have “ Give the Ultimate Gift-We all can help to Pass information and this Great story of Memorial day on to our friends, neighbors and of course: our own Children too—so that ALL may continue to be PROUD to be an AMERICAN! I think of all the past years I have wasted by not getting actively involved I could cry-but Never Again.
- If there are any additions that anyone here would like to me to add- or any questions-please feel free to contact me. And again—Thank you for taking the time to look at my post-I hope you have found at least something here that you enjoyed.For any needed links or Photos please call.
Darth Airborne
Have You Forgotten …..
