Memorial Day is more than barbecue and beer

Memorial Day, is an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May. It is a day set aside to honor the  men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

In Jacksonville we kick off Memorial Day Weekend with the Jazz Festival. In New York City they have parades, in Washington, D.C. they have concerts, in Indianapolis they run The Indianapolis 500 and all across our nation there are cookouts, picnics and barbecues.  

While we enjoy all of that let’s  take time to remember our service members, our brave men and women who died in service to our nation and her citizens.

Under an act signed by President Bill Clinton in 2000, Americans are supposed to pause and remember the deceased at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day.
And  in a speech commemorating Memorial Day 2015 President Barack Obama said “The Americans who rest beneath these beautiful hills, and in sacred ground across our country and around the world, they are why our nation endures. Each simple stone marker, arranged in perfect military precision, signifies the cost of our blessings. It is a debt we can never fully repay, but it is a debt we will never stop trying to fully repay. By remaining a nation worthy of their sacrifice.”

Flag etiquette for Memorial day. The flag is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day. The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country.
At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.
If your personal flag cannot be raised and lowered effectively because it is mounted to your home, you have another option. Flag protocol dictates that a black ribbon be tied on top of the flagpole, just under the top ornament.

2018 Memorial Day Ceremony