MONDAY May 31, 2021
Memorial Day
All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king.
1 Chronicles 12:38
Interestingly, many Americans are unaware of the true meaning of Memorial Day. Its meaning has somewhat been lost in a three-day, holiday weekend as people focus on barbequing and enjoying summer fun. People are often unaware that each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00pm.
It is important not to forget the tremendous sacrifices of lives lost while fighting the war for freedom. Memorial Day is a national holiday in which we honor those in military service who have died fighting the war. Initially, Memorial Day was observed on May 30; however, in 1971, it became a national holiday when Congress decided to change the date to the last Monday of May, in order to create a three-day weekend.
It was Major General John A. Logan, a Civil War Veteran, who founded Memorial Day in 1868. After the Civil War ended, a small group of women honored the soldiers of both North and South by placing flowers on their graves. Memorial Day was first known as Decoration Day, as the graves of the fallen were decorated with flowers and flags.
On Memorial Day, since 1921, people have worn red poppies to help remember those who have died at war. This movement was started by an American professor named Moina Michael, who had read the well-known poem In Flanders Fields, written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian who served as a brigade Surgeon in World War I. He treated thousands of wounded soldiers. In January 1918, toward the end of the war, John died of pneumonia.
“...we are highly resolved that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government, by the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
~Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, 1863~
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