WEBVTT - Why Do We Observe Memorial Day?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren bog obam here. For many Americans, this holiday has

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<v Speaker 1>traditionally signaled the sort of soft opening of summer and

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<v Speaker 1>the first chance of the year to bust out those

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<v Speaker 1>grilling skills. But Memorial Day signifies a lot more than that.

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<v Speaker 1>Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, and the tradition

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<v Speaker 1>dates back to the eighteen sixties, when men and women

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<v Speaker 1>decorated the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers with wreaths, flowers, flags,

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<v Speaker 1>and other items. The inspiration for the day came from

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<v Speaker 1>local observances that had been popping up throughout the country

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<v Speaker 1>in the three years following the war. General John A.

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<v Speaker 1>Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal

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<v Speaker 1>organization for veterans of the Union Army, was responsible for

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<v Speaker 1>declaring the nationwide Day of Remembrance in eighteen sixty eight.

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<v Speaker 1>In his proclamation, Logan wrote, thirty of May eighteen sixty

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<v Speaker 1>eight is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers

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<v Speaker 1>or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in

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<v Speaker 1>defense of their country during the Late Rebellion and whose

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<v Speaker 1>bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet

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<v Speaker 1>churchyard in the land. Was somewhat of a neutral date

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<v Speaker 1>because it wasn't the anniversary of any one specific Civil

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<v Speaker 1>War battle. That first national commemoration was a major event

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<v Speaker 1>at Arlington National Cemetery, with a speech from former Union

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<v Speaker 1>general and sitting Ohio Congressman James Garfield. Following Garfield's words

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<v Speaker 1>to attendees, five thousand participants joined in to decorate the

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<v Speaker 1>graves of more than twenty thousand soldiers, both Union and Confederate,

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<v Speaker 1>who were buried at Arlington. That tradition still lives on

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<v Speaker 1>at Arlington to this day, usually involving the current US

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<v Speaker 1>President or Vice president laying a wreath at the tomb

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<v Speaker 1>of the unknown soldier and the ceremonial placement of American

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<v Speaker 1>flags on every grave. This isn't the only account of

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<v Speaker 1>the holiday's history, though. Yale historian David W. Blight traces

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<v Speaker 1>Memorial Day back to a series of commemorations eighteen sixty

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<v Speaker 1>five held by freed black Americans after Union soldiers, including

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<v Speaker 1>members of the twenty first United States Colored Infantry, liberated

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<v Speaker 1>the port city of Charleston, South Carolina. Blite wrote in

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<v Speaker 1>a twenty eleven New York Times essay, the war was

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<v Speaker 1>over and Memorial Day had been founded by African Americans

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<v Speaker 1>in a ritual of remembrance and consecration. The war, they

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<v Speaker 1>had boldly announced, had been about the triumph of their

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<v Speaker 1>emancipation over slaveholders republic. They were themselves the true patriots.

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<v Speaker 1>While Blite's origin theory isn't universally accepted, the facts behind

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<v Speaker 1>the story are worth keeping in mind when honoring this

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<v Speaker 1>Memorial Day either way. Although the commemoration was originally intended

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<v Speaker 1>to pay homage to Civil War soldiers and events, as

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<v Speaker 1>the United States entered World War One in nineteen seventeen,

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<v Speaker 1>the holiday evolved to honor the lives of any U

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<v Speaker 1>s military personnel lost in any war, and a full

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<v Speaker 1>century after the first commemoration, in nineteen sixty eight, Congress

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<v Speaker 1>passed the un form Monday Holiday Act in an effort

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<v Speaker 1>to create three day weekends for federal employees. The change

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<v Speaker 1>went into effect in ninety one, and since that switch,

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<v Speaker 1>Decoration Day became Memorial Day, and the holiday has been

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<v Speaker 1>observed on the last Monday in May every year. As

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<v Speaker 1>far as holidays go, Memorial Day does some heavy lifting

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<v Speaker 1>in terms of the sheer number of people it pays

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<v Speaker 1>tribute to. A few stats to keep in mind. More

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<v Speaker 1>than forty five million soldiers have served the United States

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<v Speaker 1>during wartime. More than one million, three hundred and fifty

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<v Speaker 1>thousand Americans have died in armed conflicts around the world.

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<v Speaker 1>There are two hundred and sixty thousand graves at Arlington

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<v Speaker 1>National Cemetery, and each one is decorated with an American

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<v Speaker 1>flag on Memorial Day. And speaking of the flag, traditionally,

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<v Speaker 1>American flags are raised to the top of the mast

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<v Speaker 1>the morning of Memorial Day, then slowly lowered half masted

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<v Speaker 1>until noon, and then flown at full mast the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of the day. But of course, over the decades since

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<v Speaker 1>its official and section, Memorial Day has taken on somewhat

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<v Speaker 1>of a hybrid vibe, as many Americans consider the extra

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<v Speaker 1>day off as a way to usher in summer. In

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<v Speaker 1>previous years, millions of Americans traveled over the weekend and

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<v Speaker 1>some six as fired up a grill. It's yet to

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<v Speaker 1>be seen how will observe the day this year. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Michelle Constantinovski and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other topics because

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