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What Does Memorial Day Signify? All About the Military Holiday

What Does Memorial Day Signify? All About the Military Holiday

Yahoo26-05-2025
Memorial Day takes place on the last Monday in May every year in the United States
The annual federal holiday is intended to serve as a day of remembrance for those who died while serving in the U.S. military
It's generally advised not to wish people a "Happy" Memorial DayMemorial Day 2025, which takes place on the last Monday in May every year, falls on May 26, 2025.
Over the years, Memorial Day has come to symbolize the first weekend of summer, but its meaning far exceeds the summer vibe. Memorial Day is an annual federal United States holiday that is dedicated to mourning and honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
The holiday, which was established in 1868, is intended for families, friends and others to pay tribute to fallen service members. Oftentimes, volunteers place American flags in cemeteries to honor their lives. There are over 150 national cemeteries —including Arlington National Cemetery and Gettysburg National Cemetery — across the country that will sport thousands of American flags every Memorial Day.
In addition to Memorial Day, there is also Armed Forces Day, celebrating current military members on the third Saturday in May, and Veterans Day, honoring all veterans on Nov. 11 every year.
Unlike Armed Forces Day and Veterans Day, it's generally discouraged to wish people a "Happy" Memorial Day, because it is a day of remembrance.
Here's everything to know about Memorial Day.
Memorial Day descends from the Southern tradition of "Decoration Day," when families traveled to the cemeteries where their ancestors were interred to place flowers on their graves, per Decoration Day in the Mountains. Often, large groups of extended families made the trip, religious ceremonies took place and food was served.
Decoration Day used to reflect the cycles of farm life, taking place in late summer when farm work was lightest or in autumn after the seasonal harvest. (Some areas would also observe it on Sundays to coincide with church services.)
According to a website dedicated to the holiday, Memorial Day — as we know it — was established on May 5, 1868, when Grand Army of the Republic (a Civil War veteran organization) General John A. Logan, the GAR's first commander-in-chief, declared May 30 to be Memorial Day and called on the GAR's membership to make it an annual occurrence.
Some hold that the day was observed because it was the anniversary of a specific battle. In 2010, President Barack Obama's Memorial Day speech (via Associated Press) referenced the date being chosen because it was when flowers were optimally in bloom for decorating graves.
Memorial Day as a national holiday did not become common until after World War II and wasn't even designated as the holiday's official name until 1967. The following year, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Memorial Day from its fixed date (along with three other holidays) to the last Monday in May.
The law went into action on the federal level in 1971; within a few years, all 50 states adopted the change.
Memorial Day is not — as Veterans Day is — a blanket remembrance of those who have served in the nation's armed forces, according to VA's 2023 Veterans Day Teacher Guide. It is specifically designated to honor those who have died while serving, and because of its gradual erosion into a "start of summer" celebration, several organizations and individuals advocate for the return of the holiday to May 30, including both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
The late former Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, introduced a Congressional measure to return Memorial Day to May 30 in 1987 and continued to do so every year until his death in 2012.
In 1999, he wrote, "Mr. President, in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer."
Writing on the now-defunct Listserv in 2013, U.S. Marine Tony Bundschuh elaborated on the idea: "There is a difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Veterans Day is the one where we give thanks to all that [sic] have served, but Memorial Day is supposed to be a somber day set aside for remembrance of those that [sic] have died serving their country. It is not a happy day."
In December 2000, a resolution for a National Moment of Remembrance was passed, which calls for all Americans to "voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect" at 3 p.m. local time.
Alternatively, people can also donate money to one of the many organizations that support families of combat-wounded or killed veterans or veterans themselves, like Hope for the Warriors, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society or Homes for Our Troops.
Read the original article on People
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Mt. Tam railroad's last survivor restored and ready for new role at California museum
Mt. Tam railroad's last survivor restored and ready for new role at California museum

San Francisco Chronicle​

time26 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Mt. Tam railroad's last survivor restored and ready for new role at California museum

SACRAMENTO — Early morning commuters on Highway 37 Friday would have been taken aback by an ancient mode of transportation rolling alongside the old passenger railroad tracks that once connected Marin County to Vallejo and the world beyond. It was Engine No. 9, the last relic of the fabled Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway, on a tractor trailer headed up the line to Sacramento. The steam locomotive, built in 1921 and lettered in gold, was bound for the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, where it will go on public display in August. This completes a seven-year restoration effort by Friends of No. 9, a nonprofit that sank $500,000 and 15,000 volunteer hours into arriving at this point. 'This is like a coronation for us,' said Fred Runner, President of Friends of No. 9, the Novato nonprofit that got the job done. The engine was delivered in a five-vehicle parade from Sebastopol to Sacramento, led by Sheedy Drayage of San Francisco, which transported the 36-ton load of iron and steel, free of charge. 'To be invited to the CSRM is like having a vintage car invited to show at the Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach,' Runner said. 'It's a very rare thing that just doesn't happen. But it did.' As a teaser for the railroad museum display, No. 9 was brought by the same Sheedy Drayage trailer to the Mill Valley Depot over Memorial Day weekend. It made its public premiere in the town parade, with its bell ringing and the whistle blowing and smoke coming out of the engine. 'There was a tremendous display of enthusiasm by people who loved the engine and thought it should stay at the depot,' Runner said. But by then the train was already rolling to Sacramento, a commitment made a year ago, when it was still in mid-restoration at a workshop. That was a job that took five years from the moment it was purchased at auction up near Eureka, where it had sat out in the weather gathering rust for 62 years. 'We are lucky that there is this marvelous group of obsessives that tracks these old steam engines,' said Runner, who led a team that outbid five other obsessive parties to muster up the winning bid of $56,240 to buy No. 9. There were 15 members of the bidding party, most of whom were devoted to the lore of the old Mount Tam railroad line and knew this was the last remaining piece of it. 'There is this whole fabric of stories about the lore of Mount Tam, and the railroad is at the center of it,' said Runner, a movie sound mixer who worked on 'Basic Instinct,' 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'Total Recall' and most recently 'Top Gun: Maverick,' which won an Academy Award for sound two years ago. 'As a moviemaker I'm interested in stories, and the stories about Mount Tam are tremendous,' Runner said. The story of the Mount Tam railway, which called itself 'the crookedest little railroad in the world,' was told in the 1980s in 'Steaming Up Tamalpais,' a short documentary by Mill Valley filmmaker Cris Chater. Runner saw it at the Mill Valley Film Festival and started tracing the tourist railroad line, which was built in 1896 and scrapped in 1930. Its 8.1 miles of track from the Mill Valley depot to the Mount Tam summit — 281 turns later — had been ripped out, as was the 2-mile spur into Muir Woods. Only Engine No. 9 survived, probably because it was still new with life left in it when the railway closed so it wasn't sold for scrap. It worked an additional 25 years hauling lumber from the forest to the mills. 'Amazingly it didn't get melted down to turn into weapons during World War II,' Runner said. No. 9 was no longer in running condition when the Friends bought it at auction, and it is still not in running condition because the boiler would need to be rebuilt and certified at a cost of $150,000, he estimated. The engine is 34 feet long, 12 feet high and 9 feet wide, and every aspect including the nonworking boiler was taken apart piece by piece. It was all repaired, cleaned, greased and then put back together — tender, cab, boiler, frame, even the assembly for the steel wheels. 'The restoration of the No. 9 represents the very best impulses of the preservation community,' said Ty Smith, director of the California State Railroad Museum. 'Although the locomotive won't steam passengers up Mount Tamalpais, it serves as a window into a remarkable episode in California history. We're grateful to be able to share in telling this important story.' When it arrived by caravan Friday morning, No. 9 was put onto the museum's railroad track and pushed along to its display stage. At that point, Runner was allowed to sit in the engineer's seat and listen to the valves open and close while No. 9 was actually moving on live track for the first time since 1953. It went only a few hundred feet, but the ride was smooth, thanks to 16 new springs. 'To feel the engine actually moving and hearing it hiss was a thrill,' he said. The engine was then removed to storage space, to allow museum staff time to finalize the exhibit. No. 9 will be up for six months with a possible extension, but it still needs a permanent home. 'While it is in Sacramento, we are working on it,' Runner said. 'It's an extraordinary piece of local history that deserves to be remembered.'

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