Memorial Day

On the last Monday in May we celebrate Memorial Day. This holiday, originally called Decoration Day, is a day to honor the dead and is borne out of the Civil War. On May 5, 1868 General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed this day. 

It is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. More than two dozen cities and towns claim to be Memorial Days’ birthplace. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, the origins of the day are blurry.

New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873. It took until 1890 before this day was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, until the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war.

Memorial Day is now celebrated in almost every state, due to the National Holiday Act of 1971.