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When I was a kid Memorial Day was called Decoration Day.  I had no idea the holiday was set aside to honor our war dead because we decorated graves of all loved ones.  Later in life I learned the true meaning of Memorial Day.

Memorial Day began as a local observance in the aftermath of the Civil War.  The first national commemoration took place May 30, 1868 at the direction of General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. His orders were "strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country" in honor of Union soldiers.  However, those tending the burial sites decided on their own to decorates the graves of both side of the conflict.  They realized that each person who died was the cherished loved ones of families and communities perhaps many miles away.  Since travel wasn't what it is today, many soldiers who died far from home were buried wherever they died.  It was a holiday that born out of compassion and empathy as grieving wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and other loved ones honored the fallen - no matter which side they fought for.

For 5 decades the holiday remailed unchanged, but in 1919 as the bodies of young Americans were returned to the United States from the battlefields of World War 1, May 30 became a truly national event.  It remained that way until 1971 when during Vietnam - the war America wanted to forget - the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed by Congress and turned Memorial Day into a "3 day weekend."  Since then this national holiday has been reduced to "the start of the summer season" complete with barbecues, camping trips, huge sales promotions and general disregard for the meaning of Memorial Day.  Perhaps America needs to return to some of it's old fashioned values.

As I listened to Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless The USA" I walked back in time thinking of the loved ones graves I helped decorate as a child and then spent time reflecting on the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to maintain our freedom.  Thanks also to the current military who serves our country.

Submitted by Lynda Fleming, Integrity Mortgage Customer Service Rep.