Today is Memorial Day, but many will not understand.
For most Americans, Memorial Day is summer's unofficial starting gate, a lighthearted day away from work that's all about cracking open a few cold ones and firing up a few burgers and hot dogs on the backyard grill for family and friends.Posted by Alan at May 30, 2005 07:49 AMKind of an odd way to act on a day originally set aside to remember American soldiers who died defending their country, no?
First proclaimed in 1868, Memorial Day was reserved to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War, one of the nation's bloodiest conflicts and the only one fought by and against Americans on U.S. soil. Adopted as a holiday by all states by 1918, Memorial Day — celebrated this year on May 30 — was intended as a somber day to lay flowers and wreaths at fallen soldiers' gravestones, recalling their ultimate sacrifice. But Memorial Day has lost much of its meaning over the years.
"I've heard that concern time and time again from veterans," said William F. Gibney, commander of the Rev. Francis Kelley chapter of the Disabled American Veterans at Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospital in Albany. "It happens to be the start of summer, and I'm not going to begrudge people that, but there is not enough attention given to the true meaning of Memorial Day."
With the passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971, Memorial Day created a long weekend at the end of May leading into summer, solidifying it as a day of leisure, said Robert Thompson, a pop culture expert and professor at Syracuse University.
"Memorial Day comes at a time in the year where it was destined to be usurped by something else," Thompson said. "Memorial Day was designed as a memorial to the Civil War, but memories of that war faded as time passed. That could have been the end of Memorial Day, but the reason it stuck around was because it has a convenient spot in the calendar for a celebration."
Catastrophic events, such as Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks, will turn certain days into memorials — although those days tend to shift over time. Sept. 11 is America's true Memorial Day right now, Thompson said.
"The families of those who have lost children, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives in Iraq won't have any trouble remembering what Memorial Day is all about," Gibney said. "I'd like to see them get more support from other Americans."