History and Meaning of Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. It is difficult to prove the origins of this day as over two dozen towns and cities lay claim to be the birthplace. In May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson stepped in and officially declared Waterloo, New York the birthplace of Memorial Day.

Regardless of the location of origins or the exact date, one thing is clear - Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War (which ended in 1865) and a desire to honor our dead. On May 5th, 1868, General John Logan, who was the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed a Memorial Day in his General Order No. 11.

Part of the history of Memorial Day meaning will show that in the Order, the General proclaimed:

"The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land."

Because the day wasn't the anniversary of any particular battle, the General called it, The Date of Decoration Day.

On the first Decoration Day, 5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington Cemetery while General James Garfield made a historic speech.

New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873. It was recognized by all northern states by 1890. Differently, the South refused to acknowledge the day and honored their dead on separate days. This went on 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.

With the Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363), it is now observed on the last Monday in May by almost every state. This helped ensure a three-day weekend (Memorial Day Weekend) for Federal holidays. In addition, several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead.

Memorial Day and Red Poppies

In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," Moina Belle Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
that grows on fields where valor led.
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.

Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms. Michael. When she returned to France she made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children's League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later, and Madam Guerin approached the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for help.

Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922, the VFW became the first veterans' organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later, their "Buddy" Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948, the U.S. Post Office honored Ms. Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3-cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.

National Moment of Remembrance

The meaning of Memorial Day and its history couldn't be complete without the birth of the "National Moment of Remembrance," a resolution passed on December 2000, which asks that at 3 p.m. local time that all Americans were "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of Remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps'."

Taps...Its Origin and Meaning

"Taps" is not officially a song but is a bugle call, which is a signal, not a song, so there are no "official" Taps lyrics. The signal was also known as the "Drum Taps", "The Taps", or, in soldiers' slang, "Taps".

The official military Taps is played by a single bugle or trumpet at dusk during flag ceremonies and at military funerals by the United States Armed Forces. The duration is usually around 59 seconds but can vary at times.

There is a popular myth about the origin and history of Taps. However, the true story is that in July 1862, after the Seven Days Battles at Harrison's Landing near Richmond, Virginia, the wounded Commander of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, General Daniel Butterfield, reworked, with his bugler Oliver Wilcox Norton, another bugle call, "Scott Tattoo," to create Taps. He thought that the regular call for Lights Out was too formal.

Military Taps was adopted throughout the Army of the Potomac and finally confirmed by orders. It wasn't soon after that order, that other Union units began using Taps. It became so popular that even a few Confederate units began using it as well. After the war, Taps became an official bugle call. Col. James A. Moss, in his Officer's Manual first published in 1911, gives an account of the initial use of Taps at a military funeral:

"During the Peninsular Campaign in 1862, a soldier of Tidball's Battery A of the 2nd Artillery was buried at a time when the battery occupied an advanced position concealed in the woods. It was unsafe to fire the customary three volleys over the grave, on account of the proximity of the enemy, and it occurred to Capt. Tidball that the sounding of Taps would be the most appropriate ceremony that could be substituted."

Words to Taps

Even though it's a bugle signal, many started putting words to Taps. (Note: There are no "official" words to Taps but the most popular Taps Lyrics are shown below.)

Day is done, gone the sun,
from the hills, from the lake,
from the skies.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
may the soldier or sailor,
God keep.
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night, must thou go,
when the day, and the night
need thee so?
All is well. Speedeth all
to their rest.

Fades the light; and afar
goeth day, And the stars
shineth bright,
fare thee well, day has gone,
night is on.

Thanks and praise, for our days,
'Neath the sun, 'Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go, this we know,

God is nigh.

What Does the Inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery Say?

"Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God"