COMMENTARY>>A Memorial Day message

By Major Justin Barry

314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
commander

We find ourselves on the dawn of a long weekend, ready to kick off the summer time activities so many of us have been daydreaming about for the past several weeks. The kids are out of school, the days are bright until 8 o’clock at night, and vacation plans loom close on the horizon. We all know that this is Memorial Day weekend, but I wonder how often we stop to reflect what that means.

Memorial Day always falls on the last Monday of May in accordance with federal law. History indicates that the origins of Memorial Day most-likely arose from various remembrance ceremonies held on multiple days throughout the country following the Civil War. Originally called Decoration Day, most historians agree that General John Logan, national commander of an organization of northern civil war veterans known as the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a General Order on May 5, 1868, proclaiming Memorial Day as a national day of remembrance. This resulted in the first observance of Memorial Day on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Following World War I, Memorial Day was expanded to become a day in which we honor all Americans who died fighting in our nation’s wars. American flags are now placed on all the graves at Arlington on the Thursday before Memorial Day and maintained in an upright position through the end of the holiday.

On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved several federal holidays to align with specified Mondays in order to create uniform, three-day weekends. This changed Memorial Day’s observance from the 30th of May, to the final Monday of the month as we now celebrate. Further, in an effort to help citizens remember the purpose of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed in December 2000. This resolution asks that all Americans, at 3 p.m. “...voluntarily and informally observe in their own way, a moment of remembrance and respect; pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps’.”

As we begin our long weekend and look forward to those summertime activities we so enjoy, I urge and encourage you to take a moment at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 28 to pause and remember, to pause and contemplate, to pause and give thanks to our country’s heroes that have freely given of themselves and their families to ensure that we have the freedom to enjoy our summer. The freedom to travel and to gather without fear. Freedom, which our brave men and women continue to pay for everyday.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and a happy and fulfilling summer. Be safe, be smart, and enjoy the fruits of our great country. Thank you for all that you do every day, and thank you in advance for all that you will do for our great nation.