Top 10 Facts About Memorial Day
The persons serving in the armed forces of any country are always honored and treated with respect. Memorial Day is celebrated in the honor of courageous men and women who died while giving their services to the United States Armed Forces. Formerly, it was known as the Decoration Day and it also marks the beginning of the summer vacation season. It is celebrated on the last Monday of May. Let us know about some informative facts about memorial day.
10. In the year 1886, first official Memorial Day took place. Around 219 Civil War Veterans marched through the town in Columbus, Mississippi and placed garland on the graves of the fallen soldiers.
9. Ulysses S. Grant was the first ever U.S president to preside over the first official Presidential Memorial Day. It was year 1868 at the Arlington National Cemetery. More than 50,000 people were there at the ceremony.
8. Who made this day an official one? Gen. Logan, on May 5 1868, issued General Orders No. 11 according to which Memorial Day was made official. Gen. Logan was the commander of the Grand Army of the Republic which is an organization of the Union veterans.
7. Memorial Day is celebrated with different activities such as placing garlands on the graves of the soldiers, flying American flag with half mast and parades in certain areas of the country.
6. Arlington National Cemetery is the place where the tombs of those soldiers lie who couldn’t be identified. Later on, by virtue of D.N.A testing, an unknown soldier was identified as Air Force pilot Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, whose jet crashed in South Vietnam in 1972. His tomb was then shifted on to some other place.
5. The role of motorcyclists in this historic day commenced in 1988, when around 2500 motorcyclists rode in Washington D.C for the first time. By the year 2002, the number had risen to 300,000 motorcyclists.
4. Grey Memorial Day is observed in Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and several other states and this is observed to honor the Confederate dead in particular.
3. Apart from placing garlands on the graves of soldiers and parades, some other activities are also organized and planned on the weekend of Memorial Day such as shopping, family gatherings, fireworks, trips to the beach, and the Indianapolis 500 auto race which is held since 1911.
2. Indianapolis businessman Carl Fisher was the one to start the Indianapolis race and Ray Harroun was the winning driver who averaged 74.6 mph and completed the race in 6 hours and 42 minutes.
1. Georgia School Teacher, Moina Michael in the year 1915, created Poppy Day and she thought that there should be a visual symbol for those who died in the service of the country.
