People across Northeast Georgia celebrated the unofficial start to summer on Monday. Amid the boating and barbecues, some took time out from their long holiday weekend to reflect on the true significance of this day. Memorial Day ceremonies honoring our nation’s war dead were held across the region.
At Freedom Park in Cleveland, a sizeable crowd gathered to pay tribute to fallen U.S. military servicemen and women. American Legion Post 16 hosted the ceremony. Post Chaplin Rev. Dave Fortner read a list of names of service personnel who have died in the past two years. The list was longer than usual since organizers canceled last year’s ceremony due to COVID.
The American Legion Color Guard fired a 21 gun salute, and a trumpeter played TAPS.
Similar ceremonies were held in towns across the region, including Demorest, Homer, Lula, and Toccoa. In Rabun County, the local VFW held a Memorial Day barbecue fundraiser to help veterans in distress.
Memorial Day history
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the observance that became known as Memorial Day first began three years after the Civil War ended on May 5, 1868. That’s when the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.
Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed organizers chose that date because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. Another reason historians give is that it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
The first large Memorial Day observance was held in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. — a tradition that continues today.
After World War I, the national observance was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday and scheduled it to be observed the last Monday in May.
Nearly thirty years later, in December 2000, Congress passed, and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act.” This Act created a commission tasked with “encouraging and coordinating” Memorial day observances across the country. The National Moment of Remembrance was established. It encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.
Dean Dyer of WRWH News contributed to this report
