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VOL. 123 NO. 32 www.whitebearpress.com $1.00
77 YEARS LATER: Sailor’s remains returned to Minnesota PAGE 8A AMERICAN LIVES LOST IN WAR:
The meaning of Memorial Day
620,000 116,500 405,400 36,600 58,200 4,411 2,340 383 300,000 28
Civil War World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Desert Storm Fallen soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery Burials at Arlington each day
Source: www.cnn.com
O
ne of history’s most solemn days, Memorial Day is an American holiday that honors the men and women who died while serving in the United States military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. In May 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, the commander-in-chief of the Union veterans’ group known as the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a decree that May 30 should become a nationwide day of commemoration for the more than 620,000 soldiers killed in the recently ended Civil War. On Decoration Day, as Logan dubbed it, Americans should lay flowers and decorate the graves of the war dead “whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.” According to legend, Logan chose May 30 because it was a rare day that didn’t fall on the anniversary of a Civil War battle, though some historians believe the date was selected to ensure that flowers across the country would be in full bloom. Today Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May. The American flag should be hung at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day, then raised to the top of the staff. And since 2000, when the U.S. Congress passed legislation, all Americans are encouraged to pause for a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time.
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Members of area VFWs and American Legions will be conducting Memorial Day ceremonies Monday May, 27 in honor of men and women who lost their lives serving their country. See page 8A, 9A and 12A for more event information.
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