Memorial Day History

This is my first post in a couple of days, because I purchased a chess game online and downloaded it~~and it took nearly 22 hours to download, and then it did NOT work!! I shall not do that again~~I hope;) !!

Today we mark another Memorial Day, and we shall do posts all day with links to Memorial Day histories, and other pertinent information, as we honor all who have given their lives for our nation. May we have a Somber Day of Remembrance, instead of the way many in our country "celebrate" this day with drunken cookouts!! Thank You, and we begin with History.com:

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Ceremony, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.

This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Miss.; Macon, Ga.; Richmond, Va.; Boalsburg, Pa.; and Carbondale, Ill.

In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America's wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veteran's Day), a day set aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each year on November 11.)

Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Ceremony with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

Several Southern states continue to set aside a special day for honoring the Confederate dead, which is usually called Confederate Memorial Day.

LINK TO HISTORY.COM

Missing Hostages May Be Dead

It was another bloody weekend in Iraq as 14 more United States troops were killed while performing cordon and search operations near of Baghdad.
This is an area near where our troops were attacked and three not killed on scene were taken by the terrorists. One soldier was later found dead during the search, but the other two are still missing.
On Monday, a faction of al-Qaeda called the Islamic State of Iraq, released a video in which they say that its' militants killed all three United States soldiers after capturing them last month.
The video shows footage of the nighttime attack on our troops and the aftermath, but does not show the three soldiers taken hostage, so there is still a possibility that the two who have not been found are still alive.
In addition, a website associated with the terrorists claims that it will release videos of the murdered soldiers in the near future.
The body of one of the soldiers was found on May 23 in the Euphrates River and later identified by the United States military as Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, California. The two other United States soldiers, Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusettes and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan, remain missing.
The deaths this weekend raised to at least 3,493 members of the United States military who have died since the war started in March of 2003.
I think there is probably little hope of finding these young men alive and if they are imagine how much torture they are being put through. After all it was just over a week ago that our troops rescued Iraqi's who were being held and tortured by their al-Qaeda captors.
Their techniques are brutal and meant to inflict pain upon the recipient, so I fear for our two troops and what they are going through if they are still alive.
May the troops be found soon, dead or alive, so at least their families will know what happened to them, and be happy if they are alive and mourn if they are not.
The number of insurgents/terrorists continue to grow as everyone runs to Iraq to "kill" Americans, I hope that we have enough troops to keep up the fight and perhaps wear their numbers down before we leave, so fewer will want to come here and finish the job of "killing" Americans.
To our troops in harm's way, throughout the world, please be safe and godspeed!
hostages

University of Iowa's Bells To Toll For Fallen Soldiers

I was just reading a story on the Iowa Press-Citizen.com concerning the University of Iowa’s decision to ring the bell 59 times as a tribute to the number of Iowan’s that have died in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as honoring all who have died in past conflicts.
It will be rung at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, the 30th, which was the traditional Memorial Day from 1868 to 1971, until Congress passed the National Holiday Act, creating a three day weekend for federal holidays.
This decision was made after a Veteran’s group wrote a letter to the University Interim President approved the request and sent a letter to Governor Culver stating it would be an honor to show tribute to these fallen soldiers with the bell tolling.
I think this is wonderful as we owe these fallen heroes much more than a tolling bell, but I was happy to see this touching story. I know that tolling a bell does not take away the sorrow of the friends and family of these soldiers, but it does show that we honor them as well. I hope that the anti-war protestors will allow this to be a peaceful Memorial Day weekend all the way through to the tolling of the bells on wednesday, and allow these soldiers to be honored with the dignity and respect that they deserve. Then Thursday morning you should absolutely get right back to your protesting, for everyday you are trying to end the war before it is over, is another day you put a smile on Osama bin Laden’s face.
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend, with Respect and Honor to all who have died for our nation and to all our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, who are still in harm’s way throughout the world.


Bells to toll 59 times