Memorial Day was
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 first state to officially recognize the holiday was
New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the 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 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 with the National Holiday Act, P.L.
90 - 363, in 1971 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.
Americans
worldwide are asked to pause at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day
(May
31) as an act of national unity, remembrance, and rededication to the
ideals upon which nation was founded. MENC is working with the
Commission to make the Moment a new American tradition.
"To
live in the hearts of those you leave behind is never to die"
~Robert Orr~
For a long time I thought that this quote was "author unknown"
until a
visitor to my pages shared this with me: This is a paraphrase of a line
in the poem by Hugh Robert Orr, entitled, "They Softly Walk".
The
original line reads, "They are not dead who live in hearts they
leave behind".
In
the United States, Memorial Day is on the last Monday
in May and honors Americans who gave their lives
for their country in wars.
Our
house is not a home anymore,
since you left to go to war
I miss your voice, your touch, your smile
and oh so very much more.
Today
I had a visit from a soldier back from war.
I knew the moment that I heard, the knock upon the door
that you would not return to me,
no never, any more.
Now
how do I go on with life
my heart has stopped, I can not breathe
my ears can't hear your voice and fear is constantly near.
Without you now my love, my heart is full of fear.
The
shock and pain are slowly, trying to subside
for I know the Lord will comfort me, each and every time
I bring my needs before Him, with a prayer upon my lips.
For He is my fortress and the rock from whom I'll never hide.
The
Bible promises comfort
to every one who mourns,
for the Lord will wipe away my tears
and bring me back some joy.
I
never will forget you dear,
You will always be in my heart
but for now the Lord has chosen
in His divine wisdom that we must be apart.
I
know that we will meet again, remember that my dear
for time is not the same in heaven, so you need not fear.
A day is as a thousand years and as long this is true
our next meeting will seem as though it's only been an hour, a day, or
two.
---Written
by Annie 1998---
"...from
these honored dead, we take increased devotion to that cause for
which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here
highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain...
~Abraham
Lincoln, Gettysburg Address~
Today,
Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony
in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is
customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring
the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.
About “On This Day”
During the week leading up to
Memorial Day, the Commission urges Americans to perform the Commission’s
Memorial Day anthem, “On This Day.” Charles Strouse, award-winning
composer of Annie and Bye Bye Birdie, composed this anthem
expressly for the Commission’s National Moment of Remembrance. It is an
inspiring song that celebrates the lives of America’s fallen.
The song will help promote and
inspire the tone of this annual observance: to connect us all as Americans
and to sustain the American spirit. By remembering those who died for our
country, we become more aware of our identity as Americans. The song has
been created not to show a financial profit, but to inspire patriotism and
pride.
“On This Day”
by Charles Strouse,
2003
The bugle has sounded, its notes
drift away, this time now belongs to you.
On this day for one brief moment,
hear the silence fill the air
Think of those who walked beside us, now
no longer there,
Then don’t cry but hear their
laughter, for their spirit lives inside
Let that mystic stream of
mem’ry fill our hearts with pride!
Make us humble, make us knowing,
and accepting what is done
On this day for now, forever, make this
nation one!
On this day for all the fallen, make this nation
one
Hear “On This Day”
Solo Tenor Arrangement with
U.S. Army Band
Col. Gary F. Lamb, USA Leader and
Commander; Arranged by SSG James Kazik, Staff Arranger, Pershing's
Own
"Taps"
The
song that gives us a lump in our throat and brings tears to our
eyes. Ever wonder where the song
originated?
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union
Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing
in Virginia.
The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of
land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier
who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or
Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the
stricken man back for medical attention.
Crawling on his stomach through the
gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him
toward his encampment. When the Captain finally reached his own
lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the
soldier was dead. The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his
breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of
the soldier. It was his own son.
The boy had
been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without
telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army. The
following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his
superiors to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy
status.
His request was only partially granted. The Captain had asked if
he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his
son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier
was a Confederate.
But, out of respect for
the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The
Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical
notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's
uniform. This wish was granted.
The haunting
melody, we now know as "Taps" used at military
funerals, was born.
Day is done
Gone the
sun
From the Lakes
From the hills
From the sky.
All is
well,
Safely rest.
God is nigh.
Fading light
Dims the
sight
And a star
Gems the sky,
Gleaming bright
From
afar,
Drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise,
For
our days,
Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
Neath the sky,
As we
go,
This we know,
God is nigh.
Submitted by
FrogLady
Links for Other Web Sites with Information About
"TAPS"
For Sheet Music & Sound Files for "Taps":
www.mrfiddle.com/Bugle_Calls/Taps.htm
For more information
about "Taps": www.usmemorialday.org/taps.html
Quotes:
"Your silent tents of
green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering
been,
The memory shall be ours."
Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow
"A thoughtful mind, when it
sees a Nation's flag, sees not the flag only, but the Nation itself; and
whatever may be its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly in the flag
the Government, the principles, the truths, the history which belongs to
the Nation which belongs to the Nation that sets it
forth."
Henry Ward
Beecher
from The American Flag
"Yesterday, the greatest
question was decided which ever was debated in America; and a greater
perhaps never was, nor will be, decided among men. A resolution was
passed without one dissenting colony, that those United Colonies are,
and of right ought to be, free and independent
States.
John Adams
Letter to Mrs.
Adams, July 3, 1776
"Soldier, rest! Thy warfare
o'er,
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Dream of battled
fields no more.
Days of danger, nights of waking."
Sir Walter Scott
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
Memorial Day Poems
I watched the flag
pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Service man
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'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many
men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign
soil
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots'
planes shot down?
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were
soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
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 a
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.
  
Comfort Of Life:
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/comfortoflife/
Holidays Of the 3rd Millennium
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holidaysinthe3rdmillennium/
The images used on most of my
pages were created, by me:
Bea Mitts (starbryte)
The scenes were
created using: "Terragen"
3-D Text
Images were created using: "Xara
3-D" or Xara WebStyles"
Other
Images were created using: " PSP
6.x",
and Picture Tubes created by others, or myself. :)
May 26, 2004
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