Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog obam here. For many Americans, this holiday has traditionally signaled the sort of soft opening of summer and the first chance of the year to bust out those grilling skills. But Memorial Day signifies a lot more than that.
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, and the tradition dates back to the eighteen sixties, when men and women decorated the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers with wreaths, flowers, flags, and other items. The inspiration for the day came from local observances that had been popping up throughout the country
in the three years following the war. General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for veterans of the Union Army, was responsible for declaring the nationwide Day of Remembrance in eighteen sixty eight.
In his proclamation, Logan wrote, thirty of May eighteen sixty eight is designated 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 and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. Was somewhat of a neutral date because it wasn't the anniversary of any one specific Civil
War battle. That first national commemoration was a major event at Arlington National Cemetery, with a speech from former Union general and sitting Ohio Congressman James Garfield. Following Garfield's words to attendees, five thousand participants joined in to decorate the graves of more than twenty thousand soldiers, both Union and Confederate,
who were buried at Arlington. That tradition still lives on at Arlington to this day, usually involving the current US President or Vice president laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier and the ceremonial placement of American flags on every grave. This isn't the only account of
the holiday's history, though. Yale historian David W. Blight traces Memorial Day back to a series of commemorations eighteen sixty five held by freed black Americans after Union soldiers, including members of the twenty first United States Colored Infantry, liberated the port city of Charleston, South Carolina. Blite wrote in a twenty eleven New York Times essay, the war was over and Memorial Day had been founded by African Americans
in a ritual of remembrance and consecration. The war, they had boldly announced, had been about the triumph of their emancipation over slaveholders republic. They were themselves the true patriots. While Blite's origin theory isn't universally accepted, the facts behind the story are worth keeping in mind when honoring this
Memorial Day either way. Although the commemoration was originally intended to pay homage to Civil War soldiers and events, as the United States entered World War One in nineteen seventeen, the holiday evolved to honor the lives of any U s military personnel lost in any war, and a full century after the first commemoration, in nineteen sixty eight, Congress passed the un form Monday Holiday Act in an effort
to create three day weekends for federal employees. The change went into effect in ninety one, and since that switch, Decoration Day became Memorial Day, and the holiday has been observed on the last Monday in May every year. As far as holidays go, Memorial Day does some heavy lifting in terms of the sheer number of people it pays tribute to. A few stats to keep in mind. More than forty five million soldiers have served the United States
during wartime. More than one million, three hundred and fifty thousand Americans have died in armed conflicts around the world. There are two hundred and sixty thousand graves at Arlington National Cemetery, and each one is decorated with an American flag on Memorial Day. And speaking of the flag, traditionally, American flags are raised to the top of the mast the morning of Memorial Day, then slowly lowered half masted until noon, and then flown at full mast the rest
of the day. But of course, over the decades since its official and section, Memorial Day has taken on somewhat of a hybrid vibe, as many Americans consider the extra day off as a way to usher in summer. In previous years, millions of Americans traveled over the weekend and some six as fired up a grill. It's yet to be seen how will observe the day this year. Today's episode was written by Michelle Constantinovski and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other topics because
it has stuff works dot Com. Brain Stuff is production off I heart Radio. For more podcasts from My heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.