The origins of Memorial Day in the United States remain unclear, but the meaning of the holiday is unambiguous.
There are numerous occasions on which Americans celebrate . . . well, being American. We observe the Fourth of July to honor this nation’s founding. We acknowledge Presidents Day and Veterans Day and even Flag Day, even if that one is not an official holiday. But there is something uniquely profound about Memorial Day, which we recognize today with barbecues and gatherings and, for many, a day off from work.
In acknowledging those who have died in military service to the United States, we think of lives lost and families altered while pursuing an ideal that is larger than any individual. Freedom is not free, and the cost of ensuring that freedom often is frighteningly expensive.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 650,000 Americans have been killed in battle, dating back to the American Revolution. Another 300,000 service members have died in non-combat incidents in the theater of war. While a majority of those have come in wars long past that helped build the United States into a global power, more than 1,800 combat deaths have occurred in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
It is those deaths we remember today, making the holiday more somber than the Veterans Day celebrations of each November. While Veterans Day honors all who served in the U.S. military, Memorial Day honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending this nation’s freedoms and promoting her interests throughout the world.
The holiday serves as a reminder that those who have not gone to war and those who have returned from it bear a responsibility to those who perished. As Doc Hastings, a former Congressman from Eastern Washington, said: “Memorial Day remains one of America’s most cherished patriotic observances. The spirit of this day has not changed — it remains a day to honor those who died defending our freedom and democracy.”
Memorial Day became an official federal holiday in 1971. But its origins can be traced back at least a century prior, when Americans in the wake of the Civil War built upon ancient traditions of decorating the graves of the fallen. As History.com writes: “One of the first known public tributes to war dead was in 431 B.C., when the Athenian general and statesman Pericles delivered a funeral oration praising the sacrifice and valor of those killed in the Peloponnesian War — a speech that some have compared in tone to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.”
Given all that, it is difficult to pinpoint the holiday’s origins. The decorating of graves grew in popularity during the Civil War, particularly in the South, and continued in the years following the war. The ceremonies expanded to include speeches by dignitaries along with parades, and over time the day morphed into the occasion we recognize today.
Sadly, along the way, Memorial Day lost much of its meaning for many Americans. A recent Harris poll found that only 55 percent of adults could correctly identify the reason for the holiday — to honor the United States’ war dead. And only about one in five said they planned to fly a flag at half-staff or attend a patriotic ceremony in conjunction with the holiday.
America’s fallen soldiers — and their families — deserve better. Memorial Day recognizes sacrifices that have helped build this country; those sacrifices deserve our solemn attention today.
