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Memorial Day: Past & Present
Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: 2020/05 - May
Many people recognize Memorial Day as a time to reflect on lost loved ones, a weekend of spring barbecues and picnics, and/or a long weekend away from work, school, and other responsibilities.
Yet few know that Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day due to the Gullah Geechee (enslaved East Coast African Americans) early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths, flags, feathers, sea shells, and more. Food, fellowship, and music surrounded those early Decoration Day tributes, which ultimately transitioned into what is now commonly known as Memorial Day – officially a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country.
While Decoration Day was first widely observed in 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, in 1971 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be commemorated on the last Monday of May. Some people and states still incorporate some sort of Decoration Day traditions, or they recognize separately the honoring of men who died while fighting in the Civil War.
American Legion Post 370 and the Town of Highlands annually honor not only deceased service men and women who returned home after surviving a war, but also those individuals who perished in a war. During last year’s Memorial Day flag recognition event at Memorial Park near the Highlands Police Department, Ed McCloskey, American Legion Post 370 commander, shared: “There have been 1,354,664 American deaths from war. May no soldier go unloved; may no soldier walk alone; may no soldier be forgotten until they all come home.”
