Glenbrooke News

MEMORIAL DAY: BY GEORGE B.

Memorial Day is a lot more than the unofficial start of summer or the date of the Indianapolis 500 automobile race and the Sacramento Jazz Festival.  The purpose of Memorial Day is to commemorate U.S. military who died while in active service of their country. About 1.35 million military members have lost their lives protecting our nation.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day and began in May 1866 in Waterloo, New York where Union soldiers graves were decorated. General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a society of former Union soldiers, proclaimed the date of May 30 th. for Decoration Day as it was not the anniversary of any battle. Each year more communities across the nation honored their fallen, particularly the large ceremonies at Arlington and Gettysburg National Cemeteries.

By 1890, memorial ceremonies were held in all the northern states under the sponsorship of the Women’s Relief Corps.   In the South, the first commemorative service was by freedmen ( formerly slaves) for Union soldiers who had died at a prison camp in Charleston, South Carolina.  Former Confederate states soon held their own memorial services at different dates of the year, generally in the spring. They also hold a Confederate heroes Day around January 19, the birth date of R.E. Lee. In 1968 Congress passed a bill moving Memorial Day to the last Monday in May to create a 3 day holiday weekend beginning in 1971.

Today there are many local and national services including a large concert on the west lawn of the Capitol in Washington D.C. There will be a memorial service at the Elk Grove District cemetery on Elk Grove Blvd. and Hwy.99. It will be held in their Rose Garden on Monday, May 30 th at 10:30 am and will include guest speakers, prayers, poems, music and the playing of Taps.  . It is free and only about a mile east of Glenbrooke.