April 27, 2017

The History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the last Monday in the month of May. Originally, it was called Decoration Day, held on May 30, a day set aside to decorate the graves of the Union and Confederate soldiers that died during the Civil War.  Later, it was changed to Memorial Day and was to commemorate all soldiers that died in battle in any of the wars. With the enactment of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1971, Memorial Day has been on the last Monday of May. In 1987, Senator Daniel Inouye (Hawaii), himself a World War II veteran, introduced a measure to return Memorial Day to May 30. There is a difference between Memorial Day in May and Veterans Day in November. Memorial Day is designated to remember those veterans that died during war. Veterans Day is to honor all veterans.

Filed Under: Community, History

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