(Shenandoah) – As you get older, you gain the sensation that time is moving faster (and in some cases, not fast enough!).
Here we are, another Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day services abound in KMAland this weekend. Shenandoah’s traditional Memorial Day observance takes place Monday at 10:30 a.m. at the Rose Hill Cemetery in the Veteran’s Memorial Circle around the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Over the past few years, concern has mounted as to whether Americans are forgetting the true meaning of Memorial Day (it’s usually the same folks worried that people are forgetting the true meaning of Christmas—but I digress). To many, Memorial Day means vacations, beach or pool time, outdoor cookouts, picnics, baseball games, the NBA and NHL playoffs, the Indianapolis 500, the Coca Cola 600 and the Grand Prix of Monaco (for you Formula 1 fans out there).
Actually, Memorial Day is supposed to be a time to remember the nation’s war dead. Originally known as Decoration Day after the Civil War, a congressional joint resolution in May, 1950 commissioned the president to call upon U.S. citizens to observe each Memorial Day “as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period during each such day when the people of the United States might unite in such supplication.”
In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson officially proclaimed Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day. Two years later, Congress approved the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, moving national Memorial Day observances from May 30th to the last Monday in May, beginning in 1971.
For more on the history of Memorial Day, here’s a link to information provided by the National Cemetery Association through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.
To offer further historical perspective, here’s some sobering figures on war’s human toll – statistics on the number of deaths in major U.S. conflicts dating back to this country’s beginnings:
American Revolutionary War (1775-83): 70,000 (estimated)
War of 1812 (1812-15): 15,000 (est.)
Mexican-American War (1846-48): 13,283
U.S. Civil War (1861-65) Total: 665,000 (est.)
Union: 361,511
Confederate: 290,000 (est.)
Spanish-American War (1896): 2,446
Philippine-American War (1898-1913): 4,196
World War I (1914-18): 204,002
World War II (1939-45): 405,399
Korean War (1950-53): 36,574
Vietnam War (1955-75): 58,220
Gulf War (1990-91): 294
War in Afghanistan (2001-2021): 2,325
Iraq War (2003-2011): 4,492
Not included here are the casualties from “other” U.S. conflicts. Twenty U.S. servicemen, for example, were killed during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 – the closest we’ve come to ending civilization as we know it.
Beyond the numbers, the best way to gain true perspective on the meaning of Memorial Day is to drive by a local cemetery, and notice all the brilliantly- displayed American flags. Look at all the decorated graves of fallen U.S. servicemen and women.
Even if you can’t make it to a cemetery for a Memorial Day ceremony this weekend, take time out of your busy schedule to think about the brave Americans who sacrificed their lives in the defense of our country. They deserve to be remembered.
After all, all gave some. Some gave all.
Mike Peterson is senior news anchor/reporter with KMA News. The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of this station, its management or its ownership.
Sarah Wilson is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
