It's a Day to Remember Our Fallen Soldiers
May 25, 2015
By: O. J. Cunningham
Today is not about sandals and swimsuits.
The practice of decorating fallen soldiers' graves with flowers is nothing new.
According to most historical remembrance, the custom of laying flowers at the site of American Soldiers' graves began as far back as the American Civil War.
When I was a kid back in the 1950s, it was "the thing we did" on May 30th each year. Mom would drive us out to the cemetery each year on that date and we would lay flower wreaths on the graves of passed family members.
I don't think I actually knew or understood (as a young child) the significance of the act of placing flowers on a grave. I certainly could not have understood a soldier's sacrifice for his country.
Back on June 28, 1968, the Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend.
The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971. Each of the 50 states adopted Congress' change of date within a few years.
It's traditional on Memorial Day, to raise the flag of the United States briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.
The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory (flag) is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.
We salute the brave, the fallen soldiers, who fought and took a stand for their country. We salute those who have sacrificed so that you, I and our families can be free.
Do Not Forget.