Beech Tree News Network

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance of those who have died in service of the United States of America.  Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day.  While Waterloo, New York was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of that day.
Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear-Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead.  It was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his general order #11.  “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated to the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land”, he proclaimed.  The date of Decoration Day, as it was called, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.  The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.  By 1890, it was recognized by all northern states.  The south refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I(when the holiday changed from just honoring those who died in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).
It is now observed in almost every state on the last Monday in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971.  This helped ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays, though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas; April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3(Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.
In 1915, inspired by the poem In Flanders’ Fields, Moina Michael replied with her own poem:
“We cherish, too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies”.
She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war.  She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.  Later a Madam Geurin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this custom started by Ms. Michael.  When she returned to France she made artificial red poppies to raise money for war-orphaned children and widowed women.  This tradition spread to other countries.  In 1921, The Franco-American Children’s League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium.  The league disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. 
Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922, the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to nationally sell poppies.  Two years later their “Buddy” poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans.  In 1948, the U.S. Post Office honored Ms. Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it. 
The National Moment of Remembrance resolution was passed on December 2000 which asks that at 3 pm local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they were doing for a moment of silence or listening to “Taps”.  (www.usamemorialday.org)