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Memorial Day
By Wauwatosa Public Library
Monday, May 4 2009, 04:04 PM
Memorial Day, also called Decoration Day, is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May. It honors U.S. men and women who died while in military service. It was first enacted to honor soldiers of the American Civil War and was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
After the Civil War, many communities designated a day to honor the memory of their soldiers killed in battle. Waterloo, New York, first observed the holiday on May 5, 1866 and in 1966, the government officially proclaimed Waterloo, New York, the birthplace of the holiday. In 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans’ organization, issued a proclamation that Decoration Day be observed nationwide on May 30th each year. The name, Memorial Day, was first used in 1882 and was declared the official name of the holiday in 1967.
On June 28, 1968, the government passed the Uniform Holidays Bill which moved three holidays, Presidents’ Day, Veterans Day and Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a three-day weekend. In 1971, the Memorial Day holiday was officially moved to the last Monday in May.
On Memorial Day, many people observe the holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials and placing American flags and flowers on military gravesites. Communities hold memorial observances and parades. Plan to attend Wauwatosa’s Annual Memorial Day Observance Monday, May 25th at 10:00 at Longfellow Middle School. The program will include the Presentation of Colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation, Celebration of Sacrifice, Playing of Taps and musical selections performed by the Wauwatosa Community Band.
