In Memory

• Memorial Day was originally created to honor Union soldiers who’d died while fighting in the Civil War. Because of this, southern states did not observe Memorial Day until after World War I, when the holiday was expanded to include soldiers from all wars.
• Memorial Day observance peaked in the first part of the 20th century, when aged Civil War veterans attended parades in towns across America.
• Memorial Day observances were at an all-time low in the 1960’s, then experienced a resurgence in the 1980’s.
• On the Thursday before Memorial Day, soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard) place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They patrol the cemetery 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.
• In 2004, Washington D.C. held its first Memorial Day parade in over 60 years. This coincided with the dedication of the National World War II Memorial.
• The red poppy is a traditional symbol of Memorial Day (many veterans wear them to commemorate the day).
• The poppy was inspired by (World War I-era) John McCrae poem “In Flanders Fields”:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

In memory of those who have served before us, with us and after us.  In memory of those who sacrificed the greatest sacrifice for us.  We thank you and we remember you.

To all my fellow comrades who are still serving today; I thank you and I miss you!