Celebrated on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is a time to remember the U.S. men and woman who lost their lives serving their country. Originally known as Decoration Day, it was established in 1868 to commemorate the dead from the Civil War. Over the years it came to serve as a day to remember all U.S. men and women killed or missing in action in all wars.

Today's Memorial Day is usually filled with cookouts in the backyard and a time for families to get together. The weekend itself, usually on Sunday is the yearly Indianapolis 500 Race. Qualifications leading up to the race makes this annual event very exciting for racing fans worldwide. What a fun weekend, but most importently is the fact that it's a time to honor all veterans who gave their lives for this country!

A Memorial Day Prayer

Eternal God,
Creator of years, of centuries,
Lord of whatever is beyond time,
Maker of all species and master of all history --
How shall we speak to you
from our smallness and inconsequence?
Except that you have called us to worship you
in spirit and in truth;
You have dignified us with loves and loyalties;
You have lifted us up with your lovingkindnesses.
Therefore we are bold to come before you without groveling
(though we sometimes feel that low)
and without fear
(thought we are often anxious).
We sing with spirit and pray with courage
because you have dignified us;
You have redeemed us from the aimlessness
of things' going meaninglessly well.
God, lift the hearts of those
for whom this holiday is not just diversion,
but painful memory and continued deprivation.
Bless those whose dear ones have died
needlessly, wastefully (as it seems)
in accident or misadventure.
We remember with compassion those who have died
serving their countries
in the futility of combat.
There is none of us but must come to bereavement and separation,
when all the answers we are offered
fail the question death asks of each of us.
We believe that you will provide for us
as others have been provided with the fulfillment of
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Memorial Day Poetry

Eulogy for a Veteran

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the Gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the mornings hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.

Author Unknown

War Memories (1941)
By J.E.Miles

Silently waiting for their Captains command,
these brave fighting soldiers of second brigand.
There goes the order, they repeat the shout,
"Over the top men, everyone out!"

Into the thick of it, a cry of dismay,
for many are wounded in this bloody fray.
Battle after battle, takes place all around,
then suddenly it is silent we don't hear a sound.

The battle is over, the victory is complete,
and the remainder of the enemy surrender in defeat.
But what of the dead comrades who died so in vain,
and the wounded soldiers suffering in pain.

The burial squad set forth upon its given task,
such a price to pay for victory, "Is it right,"
we ask? No music nor glory accompanies this chore,
In search of fallen buddies, victims of war.

MEMORIAL DAY HISTORY Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many seperate beginnings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Memorial Day was first officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on seperate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress in 1968 to 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While there is some question about the origins of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, there is no doubt one of the first was celebrated in the South. In January 1866, women in Columbus, Georgia issued a public call for the graves of Confederate soldiers to be covered with flowers. The first Confederate Decoration Day was observed that spring. In 1868, commander-in-chief of the GAR, General John A. Logan, ordered the 30th of May be set aside as a Memorial Day for the purpose of honoring the dead of the Civil War. General James Garfield was the speaker at the first observance at Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868. Over time, the day became one of remembrance for all who had given their life in battle for America. Remember Memorial Day by Jim Rolfes Commander Legion Post 241, LeMars, Iowa I am a veteran laid under the sod. I'm in good company, I'm up here with God. Come to my grave and visit with me, I gave my life so you could be free. Today is Memorial Day throughout this great land, There's Avenue of Flags, parades and bands. I can hear music, the firing squad and taps, Here come my comrades, the Legionnaires, the Bluecaps. One of them just put a flag by my stone, Some day he'll have one of his own. They say they have plans, other things to do, Don't put us aside as you would an old shoe. Come visit my grave in this cemetery so clean, This is what Memorial Day means. There are many of us lying in wakeless sleep, In cemeteries of green and oceans so deep. It's sad that for many who fought so brave, Now no one comes to visit their grave, They died so you could have one whole year free, Now can't you save this one day for me? There are soldiers, sailors, airmen up here, Who went into battle in spite of their fear. I have been talking up here to all of those men, If they had to do it over, they'd do it again. 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. ~John McCrae (1872-1918)~ Freedom Isn't Free I watched the flag pass by one day,          it fluttered in the breeze - A young Marine saluted it,          and then he stood at ease. I looked at him in uniform,          so young, so tall, so proud - With hair cut square and eyes alert,          he stands out in any crowd. I thought, how many men like him          have fallen through the years? How many died on foreign soil?          How many mothers' tears? I heard the sound of taps one night,          when everything was still. I listened to the bugler play          and felt a sudden chill. I wondered just how many times          that taps had meant "Amen" - When a flag had draped the coffin          of a brother or a friend. I thought of all the children,          of the mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands          with interrupted lives. I thought about a graveyard          at the bottom of the sea - Of unmarked graves in Arlington.         No, *Freedom isn't free*!! ~Author Unknown~ The bugle call Taps had its origins on a battlefield of the Civil War. After the Union suffered a large number of casualties in a battle near Richmond, Virginia, Brigade Commander Colonel Daniel Butterfield reflected with sadness upon the men he had lost. Unable to compose music, he hummed a melody which his aide wrote down in musical notation. The company bugler played it that night to honor their dead comrades. Taps was officially recognized by the United States Army in 1874. Accompanied by the drumbeat, Muffled Ruffles, it is the highest honor given to those who have died in service to our country. It is customarily played at funerals at Arlington national Cemetery as well as at ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknowns there. Its composer is buried in the Post Cemetery at the United States Military Academy at West Point. U. S. MEMORIAL DAY

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