Memorial Day – Remembering our fallen heroes

#MIDDLEBURY #MEMORIALDAY

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Today is Memorial Day. Today we remember those who died while serving our country in the armed forces. Many people have visited cemeteries and placed American flags on the graves of those who died.

Here in Middlebury, Lions Club members on Saturday placed flags on the graves of those they knew were veterans, whether those veterans died while in the service or not. This also is the tradition in the national cemeteries, to place flags on all graves.

While we always want to honor our veterans, it may be the practice of placing flags on all graves on Memorial Day that leads some people to believe it is a day to honor all veterans. It is not; it is a day to remember the men and women who died serving our country. We honor our veterans on Veterans Day.

Memorial Day began following the Civil War. Current estimates are that 750,000 Americans died in that war, and although some citizens had been decorating soldiers’ graves before then, it was after that war that a day of remembrance became formalized. In the North, it began as Decoration Day, first celebrated in 1868 and 1869.

Wikipedia says, “The preferred name for the holiday gradually changed from ‘Decoration Day’ to ‘Memorial Day,’ which was first used in 1882. Memorial Day did not become the more common name until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by federal law until 1967.”

Today, we stop and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and also the families who were left in mourning. Let’s honor the memory of the brave women and men who died serving. And let’s also remember the service dogs who died helping them protect our country.