Remember those who died for our country and our freedoms. This is the meaning of Memorial Day. It was also called Decoration Day because Americans would put flowers on the graves of the war dead.
The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.
By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
In 1966, the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.
Waterloo, which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866, was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed. Residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
This simple 50 second video demonstrates the REAL meaning of Memorial Day 🇺🇸
Theses are the ones who matter 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/ETTE8EwRRW
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 29, 2023
A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY
According to History.com, as the war drew to a close, hundreds of Union soldiers who were being held as prisoners of war died and were buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp in South Carolina. After the Confederate surrender, more than 1,000 now-freed slaves honored those recently deceased Union soldiers during a ceremony where they sang hymns and distributed flowers. The ceremony was dedicated to the fallen soldiers and served as a precursor to what is now celebrated as Memorial Day.
Confederate soldiers were honored on Decoration Day as well.
Memorial Day did not become an official federal holiday until 1971, more than a century after the war ended. This is the same year the holiday was officially designated as taking place on the last Monday in May. The designation has periodically drawn the ire of veterans and military supporters who suggest it is now more widely seen as the unofficial beginning of summer and not a day in which the sacrifices of fallen U.S. soldiers are honored to the extent they should be.
That is why we must remember it is about our deceased warriors. They fought and died for our freedom. Will you? As Biden and his comrades destroy the United States, will you lift up your voice against this?
FREEDOM ISN’T ACHIEVED BY A HIVE MIND
Biden gave a screaming speech today where he continually referred to the USA as a “democracy,” even though we are a Consitutional Republic. He also kept mentioning how we can achieve things if we do it together [as a collective]. Our country is founded on individualism. We are individuals. Merit, hard work, a strong belief system are what made America great. Of course, we work together, but not as the collective.
Six years ago today:
President Donald Trump met Christian Jacobs, who lost his father, Christopher, while visiting Arlington National Cemetery. pic.twitter.com/rpTin1qxg2
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 29, 2023