As we enjoy this long weekend, it is my hope that everyone takes a short moment to reflect on the importance of this day. Over the previous 250 years, a huge loss of life has occurred. Millions of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines before us made the ultimate sacrifice for the liberties that we enjoy today.

All gave some and some gave it all. There is absolutely nothing to be happy about. Grateful reflection instead, is in order. We have blessed in so many ways, that it sometimes impossible for us to understand.

If the soldiers were to come back today and see how the world has changed, would they be grateful or regretful of the fight they fought?

How many lives were lost because governments love war?

How many wars were really necessary?

How many wars will be necessary in the future?

Song imagine by John Lennon

"Memorial Day, in the United States, holiday (last Monday in May) honoring those who have died while serving in the country’s armed forces. It originated during the American Civil War when citizens placed flowers on the graves of those who had been killed in battle. The first national observance was in 1868. After World War I, the name was changed to Memorial Day, and in 1971 it became a federal holiday. The day is observed by visits to cemeteries, where flags and other items are placed on the graves of veterans. There are also parades and ceremonies. In addition, Memorial Day is considered the start of summer in the United States.

Origins and history

A small American flag is placed in front of a gravestone in a military cemetery, symbolizing Memorial Day remembrance for U.S. armed forces members.

What Is the Origin of Memorial Day?Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May.

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More than a half dozen places have claimed to be the birthplace of the holiday. In October 1864, for instance, three women in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, are said to have decorated the graves of loved ones who died during the Civil War; they then returned in July 1865 accompanied by many of their fellow citizens for a more general commemoration. A large observance, primarily involving African Americans, took place in May 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. Columbus, Mississippi, held a formal observance for both Union and Confederate dead in 1866. By congressional proclamation in 1966, Waterloo, New York, was cited as the birthplace, also in 1866, of the observance. In 1868 John A. Logan, the commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, promoted a national holiday on May 30 “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.”