Memorial Day: A Decorated History
Being in the business of selling military surplus for over a decade, we have a close connection to military holidays.
Memorial Day is certainly special here in the states — it marks the beginning of summer, spending time outdoors with family, and for some, just a well-deserved day off.
It's rather fitting then, that on this day we thank the people who fought and died to protect the American way of life.
We tend to take just that for granted — many people have literally given their lives for us. We know the name of the day, but some have forgotten the meaning, and it being reduced to a "Bank Holiday" makes it seem more boring than it really is.
We do better than that here on KommandoStore.
We'll start the history of Memorial Day by talking about its origin.
Decoration Day.
The American Civil War was without a doubt a defining era of our history. One of the most extensively studied, documented, and analyzed episodes in our nation's history.
It was truly the USA's biggest make-or-break moment. Inter-state trade tariff issues boiled over in the nullification crisis, which called in to question the true degree of state's rights over the federal government, which split the young nation in two.
The ensuing war was bloody and brutal, costing the lives of well over half a million people by conservative estimates.
As the reconstruction era after the war dawned and the nation began to heal, we looked for ways to honor the dead on both sides.
On may 5th, 1868, Decoration Day was established as a day to decorate the graves of the fallen from the Civil War with beautiful wreaths & flower arrangements.
Major General John A. Logan then declared it should be the 30th of May, when flowers all across the US would be in full bloom — In his own words, the graves should be decorated with "The choicest flowers of springtime".
He added,
"We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance... Let peasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic"
This powerful quote would certainly cement itself as the traditional reasoning of Decoration Day.
Above: A Union Soldier & Confederate Soldier meet and shake hands at the 50th reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg, where 23,000 union and nearly 28,000 confederate men lost their lives in 1863.
At Arlington National Cemetary, members of the Grand Army of the Republic (Union veterans), walked through the cemetery placing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves. In addition, they decorated headstones with small American flags.
The acts of flowers & flags continue to this very day.
Above: The National Cemetary at Arlington in 1870. Shown is the "Field of the Dead", where mourners decorated graves and eventually proceeded to the Tomb of the Civil War Unknown Dead. It is also the final resting place of over a thousand Union soldiers who died in the final campaigns of the American Civil War.
Able bodied people all over our nation have repeatedly answered the call, dropped their daily routines & normal lives, regardless of their motive, to go fight and die in war. General Logan's words ring true — we must remember the cost.
When another wound was left on our nation by the first World War, the holiday was expanded to honor all fallen American Soldiers, regardless of the conflict.
Above: Marine Captain Francis "Ike" Fenton ponders the fate of himself & his men after being told that his company was nearly out of ammunition, and his first sergeant was killed during a heavy North Korean counterattack along the Naktong River.
By doing the business we do, we hope to give new life to some of the forgotten stories literally off of a soldier's back.
Lest we forget, we tell the story of Memorial Day every year to celebrate all of its meanings; The fresh summer air, spending time with family & friends, and remembering those who've fought and died to protect our way of life.
Above: Shortly after one of the most iconic military photos of all time. The stars and stripes wave over the summit of Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima while a lone soldier looks off in the distance.