Memorial Day Observance in Chicago
Photo by Spc. Cliff C. Gajda
May 26, 2008
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. walks alongside Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in a wreath-laying ceremony procession at Daley Plaza during the city of Chicago's Memorial Day observance on Saturday, May 24, 2008.
Many folks know that Memorial Day is a day that honors men and women who have served in our armed forces, specifically those that have died in war, those who have fought, and those who are still fighting.
The very first Memorial Day took place was in May of 1868. They called it Decoration Day, and the idea for this celebration has been attributed to a Civil War General named John Logan. Apparently, Logan felt that a day like this would help to mend the strained relationship between the North and the South after the Civil War.
They say that John Logan selected a day at the end of May for a Memorial Day for a few reasons: 1) it was a day that no Civil War battles occurred; and 2) he thought that flowers would be in bloom all over America.
In 1971, Memorial Day became an official holiday.
The patriot's blood is the seed of freedom's tree. -Thomas Campbell
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