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Archive 1 |
It is requested that an edit be made to this semi-protected template (see protection log). In addition, the date for semi-protection expires today, May 30, 2012. Please change "Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union soldiers who died in the Civil War." to "Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the *Union and Confederate* soldiers who died in the Civil War." Sources: 1. The rest of said article is my first source. In the article many sources and facts are used to prove that both the North and the South were honoring and remembering their dead before the day was officially recognized. 2. "Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all." <ref> http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html </ref> 3. "On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union _and Confederate_ soldiers buried there." (emphasis mine) <ref> http://www.history.com/topics/memorial-day-history</ref> -- Nicky face ( talk) 14:04, 30 May 2012 (UTC)Nicky Moore
HI
Question: On Memorial Day, do shops, enterprises etc. work? Because, here in Greece, on National Holidays, the only things that work are cafeterias and restaurants, as well as the TV and radio stations.memorial day is kinda stupid because i dont know....
Should this be memorial day (United States)? 24.94.179.179 15:23, 21 May 2004 (UTC)
I think that Memorial Day is specifically a US holiday. In France and in UK, we honor those who died in time of war on November 11, the date of the armistice of the 1st World War, and called Remembrance Day or Armistice Day which is the American Veterans DAy. From what I understand, there is a public holiday in Greece in October called Ochi Day which celebrates military honors. I see no reference to Memorial Day in Greece nor I am aware of a similar holiday on the same date in other parts of the world. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.242.236.66 ( talk) 10:58, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
An article on Memorial Day is highlighted today at MSN Encarta, located at Memorial Day. Courtland 17:14, 2005 May 30 (UTC)
I was taught that Decoration Day/Memorial Day was established by President Abraham Lincoln. Is there any documentation for this?
Does Memorial Day honor veterans who died after discharge from military service dishonorably? How about those who were convicted of felonies after their discharge from the military? And, of course, does the current federal holiday honor those who served in the Confederate armies but who died later after signing an oath of loyalty to the Union?
"The
USAF "101 Critical days of summer" also begin on this day as well."
Redundant. Please change to either:
The
USAF "101 Critical days of summer" begin on this day as well.
or
The
USAF "101 Critical days of summer" also begin on this day.
Also, since it is an official Air Force title, all of the words should be capitalized except for "of". —The preceding
unsigned comment was added by
Camknows (
talk •
contribs)
21:27, 7 May 2007 (UTC).
While a minor quibble, a better line would be "The US Military's safety campaign, the 101 Critical Days of Summer also begins on this day." Or something along those lines. The Air Force isn't the only branch that participates, at the very least the Marine Corps and the Navy do as well, and Army PowerPoint presentations available through Google indicate that at least some of their posts do as well. Sdsanders 13:58, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
A good reference for information about Memorial Day is at www.memorialday.org. Katiecalif 15:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
This is a bad link to a non-existent page.
- Try this website www.usmemorialday.org You can find out information about US Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have died during our nation's service. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.249.80.138 ( talk) 19:52, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
There are memorial days in other countries too. I believe it should be renamed into USA_Memorial_Day.
Ans: Once there are entries for Memorial Day in other countries, it's certain that the article WILL be renamed. Until then, there's little point in differentiating betwixt entries that exist and those that don't. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.55.0.96 ( talk) 20:37, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
I concur. Let's get articles on Memorial Days in other countries, and create a disambiguation page to allow the reader to select specific article(s). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hersbruck ( talk • contribs) 21:32, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
"The southeastern U.S. celebrates Decoration Day as a day to decorate the graves of all family members, and it is not reserved for those who served in the military. The region observes Decoration Day the Sunday before Memorial Day."
The whole Southeastern region doesn't celebrate this "Decoration Day." A list of the states would be a better reference. I don't know of any celebrations here in North Carolina versus the celebration of Memorial Day itself. The source of the celebration observance is needed to make the "comment" more valid. 65.82.105.98 17:58, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
Agreed. I've never heard of "decoration day" in the South either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.62.75.67 ( talk) 22:41, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
But some of us have heard of it. It tends to be on a date such as the first Sunday after the first Saturday (or whatever)of the month. That goes back to when many small rural churches had services only once a month (although some of the Decoration Days are for family, rather than church, graveyards). This is a very important annual occasion for many of us. These events are sometimes announced in local newspapers now. Owners of local flower shops in those areas can tell you that such events occur on various Sundays during the summer. 50.104.198.87 ( talk) 22:06, 21 January 2012 (UTC)
From childhood (1950s) I recall Decoration Day being held at Brown's Mountain Cemetery on the weekend (held almost like family reunions as many families had moved to the city from the mountain during WWII), and Memorial Day being observed seperately at the veteran's cemetery on a Monday, usually both Decoration Day and Memorial Day being on different days within Memorial Day Weekend. And not all the families who met were members of the church: the criterion for inclusion was having family buried at the cemetery. Decoration Day was and is celebrated by the individual churches or communities, and is a holiday of the people or their local church, not an official state holiday.-- Naaman Brown ( talk) 11:31, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
The comment on the main page saying that Memorial Day was called Decoration Day before the Uniform Monday Holiday Act is not accurate. I was born in 1950, and learned the holidays by 1958 or 1959, and as far as I can remember, it was always called Memorial Day. My father used to call it Decoration Day, but that sounded very old-fashioned. - Ed Gehringer 10 November 2013 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.250.49.213 ( talk) 01:35, 11 November 2013 (UTC)
This is also a UK/European holiday known as Whitsun, which I note doesnt have an article. A bit POV, methinks, and needs resolving, SqueakBox 19:52, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
To me, Memorial Day is still springtime. But I live in Western Oregon where the hottest time of year runs from late June through mid-September, so the "start of summer" definition may work better for the hot-summer climates.
In Minnesota (certainly not a "hot southern climate") most of us consider Memorial Day the unofficial start of summer. Most of the kids here get out of school within the next week or two, most people go to the lake for a weekend for the first time and a lot of activities that are thought of as summer activities start around this time.
dude —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.23.169.58 ( talk) 20:51, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
Maybe it should say that it is the start of the summer vacation/beach season. Many beaches in the NE USA open then. Also, for fashionistas, is it the start of the period when it is considered proper to wear white? - BPilgraim — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rselcov ( talk • contribs) 12:28, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
Perhaps I've missed it somewhere, but there doesn't appear to be any argument supporting the application of a POV flag to this article and I've removed it. -- JakeInJoisey ( talk) 15:29, 24 May 2008 (UTC)
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I deleted the McCutcheon cartoon because it is non-neutral political propaganda. I think it shows incredibly poor judgement on the part of the editor who inserted it to put an anti-war cartoon on a Memorial Day encyclopedia entry. John Chamberlain ( talk) 20:15, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
It is possible the person who tagged this article for POV before did so because of the McCutcheon cartoon.
While the changes I made are almost minor, I believe they reflect both better grammar and composition.
1.) The subject of this article is contained in both the title and first 2 words of the opening paragraph. Repetition of the subject name as opposed to "it" in the relatively short introduction (3 sentences) strikes me as linguistic overkill. Nobody's memory or reading skill is THAT bad. Comments?
2.) In my opinion there is no comma required following "after World War 1" in the second sentence as it is a necessary qualifier to the remainder of the sentence. For example, the sentence might also be concluded thusly...
"...it was expanded to include casualties of any war or military action after World War I."
In that case the insertion of a comma after "action" would not make sense and, perhaps, that is a better edit afterall. In fact, re-reading the text, I'll insert the above and solicit...Comments? -- JakeInJoisey ( talk) 14:24, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
Two points: 1. The page currently mentions that Boalsburg, PA is the official birthplace of Memorial Day. This is not true; whatever claim Boalsburg may have to being the actual birthplace, the official birthplace was designated by Congress to be Waterloo, N.Y. Please change this ASAP (as a lot of people will access this page today - can't change it myself due to semiprotected status).
2. The above and a lot of other useful information about Memorial Day (including the fact that it was originally created as Decoration Day, can be found at this page by the Dept of Veterans Affairs.
JeroenKvanH ( talk) 21:44, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
This article has a lot of issues with factual accuracy & OR. One such example is this: "the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard & built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard; a very daring thing to do in the South shortly after North's victory. On May 30 1868 the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they'd picked from the countryside & decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the 1st Decoration Day. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic." and "The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter, and because it is likely that the friendship of General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who led the call for the day to be observed each year and helped spread the event nationwide, was a key factor in its growth." or even "Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns." Now, these sentences (and some are even whole paragraphs) are completely unreferenced, hence, I am challenging the factual accuracy of this article. RC-0722 361.0/ 1 04:23, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
Just this past Memorial Day, my wife mentioned to me that she had always bought red poppies from the VFW for Memorial Day. I had never heard of this tradition, so I spent an hour or so perusing the Web on the subject. http://www.botanical.com/site/column_rita/flanders.html summarizes most of the the historical points I was able to find. http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.levelc&cid=127 discusses the involvement VFW in this tradition. I really can't research it out the way it needs to be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.220.228.170 ( talk) 13:20, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
Please add "American" to: First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
Please add where appropriate: Memorial Day in the United States typically does not offer the remembrance of fallen non-American military service personnel nor persons killed by the American military services either in or outside of the US. Mingmasterz ( talk) 19:12, 27 May 2008 (UTC)MingmasterZ
{{ original research}} and {{ refimprove}} from back in date=May 2008 have been removed. It appears to be an old edit war which prompted these. I was WP:BOLD and removed them as the article seems to have improved since them. If you have specific issues with the article, please mention them here so all editors can see and address them. — MrDolomite • Talk 05:25, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
In the "Traditional observance" section, the article currently states that 3PM Eastern time is the moment for observance. But on the government site www.remember.gov, it states that it is 3PM local time:
"""Wherever you are, observe the Moment at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day. Ask others to remember—relatives, friends, church, neighborhood, or co-workers to observe the Moment at places such as your neighborhood, local pool, picnic grounds, etc., for one minute of Remembrance. Participation can be informal as ringing a bell three times to signify the Moment."""
67.132.99.226 ( talk) 17:34, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_South_Korea page links to Memorial Day, but the text in that page refers to their own holiday, rather than commemorating the American version (which is possible, given the number of US troops there).
Should not the general "Memorial Day" article be about the type of holiday in general, with links or disambigs to the national-specific holidays? (Memorial_Day_(US), Memorial_Day_(South_Korea), etc...?) 70.142.51.21 ( talk) 00:21, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
I want to kow what it is —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.163.174.86 ( talk) 18:41, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
A reference for the origins of Memorial Day are here. General Logan's wife gives her personal account about visiting a historic church and whilst passing through the graveyard, noticed the flowers and confederate flags decorating the tombstones by the survivors of the fallen soldiers. Upon her return to Washington, DC she spoke of its effect upon her to her husband General Logan who proceeded to pass legislation to create a "Memorial Day" in the month of May for all the fallen soldiers of both sides.<ref>http://memorialdayorigin.info/logan.html</ref>
Your current account seems erroneous since slaves were only free in the 'rebellious' states (see the reference below) and were not necessarily the ones decorating the graves as you list.
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, ... in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, ...the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
<ref>http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/transcript.html</ref>
Please document facts with references. -- Robin in Cody ( talk) 16:16, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
In the second paragraph of Memorial Day Order, is play the correct word? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.93.6.57 ( talk) 18:31, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
Whether in a time of war or not it seems only fitting that a link to the facebook group "Memorial Day" would be found relevant by many of their 200 million users. Is there err in this thinking? 74.69.228.244 ( talk) 21:51, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
When did the holiday known for generations as "Decoration Day" get the drastic name change to "Memorial Day"? Some info would be useful. -- Infrogmation ( talk) 05:52, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
"Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials and eating lots of chocolate candy in the shape of US war heads."
I deleted the reference to the chocolate warheads. I have lived in various parts of the United States and never once even seen a chocolate candy in the shape of a war head [sic], much less anyone eating one on Memorial Day or any other day. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ColourMyEyes ( talk • contribs) 17:32, 5 April 2010 (UTC)
Does Wikipedia have a standard, accepted spelling for Presidents Day? In this article, it appears as both Presidents' Day and President's Day. PlaysInPeoria ( talk) 16:58, 14 May 2010 (UTC)
Both these pictures show quite clearly all the graves are marked with crosses. I think the article could be considerably improved by showing at least one picture with graves marked with the Islamic and Jewish symbols or any other (Hindu?) Many Americans who are not Christians fought and died for their country but this looks as though only Christians did. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.76.165.161 ( talk) 19:03, 30 May 2010 (UTC)
I find that the entry does not take a neutral point of view and needs to be edited. In particular, the reference to the observance of Memorial Day fading in "liberal cities" during the 1960's and this sentence: "Conservatives revived the practice of honoring Memorial Day in the 1980s, under the leadership especially of President Ronald Reagan." This seems like a very politicized view of the history of this holiday.
Jglass54 ( talk) 20:19, 31 May 2010 (UTC)
There seem to be a lot of '1865's in there, indicating that in 1865 the Union prison was at that time a racecourse and that the celebration of the liberation of slaves and also the decorating of graves both occurred in this year. Second para goes on to say that "By 1865 the practice of decorating soldiers' graves had become widespread in the North". "By 1865" should be changed to "Within the same year..." if that's the case. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.140.133.57 ( talk) 11:02, 3 June 2010 (UTC)
I read the version on David Blight's website of his research; it is a wonderful story that deserves to be told, but he does not actually say or produce any evidence to say that this is in any way the origin of Memorial Day, just that this was the first celebration that resembled the later Decoration Day celebrations. I moved the story down from the first section to avoid that implication. It would probably be good to make that even more clear, but I can't quite figure out how to word it at the moment. Brianyoumans ( talk) 15:25, 3 June 2010 (UTC)
The article states, "Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010)." The last Monday of May is the 30th. I tried to change it but it is a code, "(May 27 in 2024)." I don't know how to fix this.
Thanks! Sezuni ( talk) 02:11, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Please first see my comments above under "Charleston Story". I have looked yet again at Blight's webpage; he is not claiming that the Charleston observance turned into a yearly event immediately (please read his piece, the link is in the Charleston Story section above.) He also never actually says that the Charleston observance influenced the later development of Memorial Day in any way - it was just very similar to the way the holiday came to be celebrated. And I do think that this story needs to be in the article, but not as "this is how Memorial Day began" - because I don't think that is really accurate. Could we have some comments from others on this? Or do we need to ask for some outside editors to join in? Brianyoumans ( talk) 15:05, 16 February 2011 (UTC)
It is astonishing to see the amount of vandalism done to this article within the past week. Sections deleted for no apparent reason of justification. Pictures taken off and then having to revert edits to put them back on. I think until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend is over, this page needs to be semi-protected. The edits are getting out of hand. Yoganate79 ( talk) 00:11, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
You are all offensive. You have politicized and demonized this article along racial lines during a time period when families are remembering their loved ones who died so young these past 10 years and earlier wars. You all hide under the guise of factual reporting when this could have been done at at different time. The contributions made by African Americans to our history has now been second classed into a two sentence comment towards the bottom of the page. It is amazing how people will claim no written documentation about actions performed by African Americans when pre-Civil war slaves were not allowed to learn to read and write. These are actions and duties that were passed down verbally for generations until it was ok for African Americans to become educated without a cross being burned on their front laws or being hung from a tree. Wikipedia allows for this change but I think it is time they block any changes to this article until QUALIFIED historians can contribute to this article. Here it is we are in 2011 and all races have equally committed to and served our country and we have hobby historians still causing mischief and strife using the power of the internet. Jerks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Moganblack ( talk • contribs) 17:29, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
The following from the History Channel is probably more accurate than your assertions that blacks created Memorial Day, which is simply absurd!
"By proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, the first major Memorial Day observance is held to honor those who died "in defense of their country during the late rebellion." Known to some as "Decoration Day," mourners honored the Civil War dead by decorating their graves with flowers. On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.
The 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances that had taken place in various locations in the three years since the end of the Civil War. In fact, several cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; and Carbondale, Illinois. In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon B. Johnson, declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo--which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866--because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.185.171.66 ( talk) 12:43, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
Since it seems that I am not alone in thinking that there is more to the history of Memorial Day than what David Blight says about it, I have revised the article a bit. I took all mention of the history of the holiday out of the lead, which I think is a good idea regardless. I also removed some of the material that seemed like overkill and/or was not supported by Blight's work, like implying that the celebration in Charleston was called "Decoration Day" (which it wasn't). I think it is logical to start by mentioning the "Charleston Story" (as I call it), and then proceed to the origins of the holiday in the North and then the South - that is chronological and makes sense to me. I think we really need to avoid implying that the events in Charleston influenced the origins of the holiday in the North. I think he would like it to be true, but I don't think he can claim it in a peer-reviewed paper, because he has no evidence that anyone up North said, "Hey, that commemoration in Charleston sounds great... let's do that here!" Logan's proclamation seems much more important in spreading the holiday nationwide. And the real answer is that some sort of commemoration probably seemed logical to grieving populations all over, and a similar sort of holiday would have arisen in any case. Please use this talk page to talk things over. This is a contentious and emotional issue. This article deserves to be better, and that doesn't come from lots of anonymous and unilateral editing. By the way, I withdraw my comment above that Blight is only an African-American studies professor; he is a history professor. I was misled by his title as head of the "Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance & Abolition". Brianyoumans ( talk) 16:06, 5 July 2011 (UTC)
Sources in the bibliography are supposed to have been cited in the article. If not, they will be moved to the header "Further reading". Each paragraph of the article needs at least one inline citation to support it, as a number of historic assertions are being made. Parkwells ( talk) 12:06, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
I don't have Blight's book. What are his references for the Charleston event being referred to as the "First Decoration Day" later? Brianyoumans ( talk) 16:49, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
The work of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in establishing a Memorial Day tradition in the South is an essential part of the story, much of which involves the reconciliation of former enemies in a common national spirit. Rjensen ( talk) 18:04, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
Including a significant amount of information about the UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy) in the history of Memorial Day section is an incredibly unscholarly, uninformed, and ridiculous measure. Southern Memorial Day began in April of 1866. The UDC wasn't born until 1894 nearly thirty years later. The UDC had nothing to do with the history of Memorial day. Nothing. This looks like an agenda. Now, the predecessor organizations of the UDC, such as the Ladies Memorial Association, had much to do with Memorial Day History. And what's more, those Ladies Associations were largely involved in the famous reconciliation events around memorial day that RJensen erroneously has attributed to the UDC. If you read Neff, Janney, Blight, Faust, or any other scholars of the event, there is no scholarly dispute about this. The UDC came much later, and had nothing to do with the history of this holiday. Does the UDC care about memorial day? Of course they do! So do the boy scouts and girl scouts. That doesn't make them an important part of the history of this day. I've been teaching in the University for some time now and I need to see RJensen's citations that the UDC had something to do with establishing memorial day. It's simply bogus. This wiki article is going to land on SNOPES as propagating a false assertion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 18:40, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
The grammar and punctuation of this section needed much help. Additionally, historians do not "argue" that the LMA played a key role, they simply acknowledge it. It's a little strange to identify the "Lost Cause" as a myth because if you do you seem to be suggesting that the cause of the Confederacy did not lose--that it's a myth that slavery was wrong! Why would you want to assert such? Do you think that the idea that the Confederacy "lost" is a myth? The "Lost Cause" is an ideology, a sentiment, and definitely a politically incorrect one, but "myth"? That word doesn't fit.
The previous author maintains that the Southern Confederate Memorial day merged into the national May 30th tradition. I changed that to "partially" because most southern states still maintain separate Confederate Memorial Day holidays. [signed: Hilltoppers]
As a resident of DC and former rider myself, I'm surprised to not see any mention of Rolling Thunder, a major bike rally held every year in conjunction with Memorial Day weekend. Some years attract as many as 350,000 bikes, which mainly stage in the Pentagon parking lot to ride in to the city, past the national capital's many monuments and tributes to those who have died serving. This ride is primarily done to raise/maintain awareness for POW/MIA soldiers from all U.S. conflicts. It would be great to see something about this included in the Memorial Day wiki. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.143.120.238 ( talk) 19:18, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
The article on Memorial Day includes the following statement: the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend This is erroneous. The race was always held on May 30, the original holiday, until relatively recently, probably after that odious law was passed shifting many holidays to Mondays. This was done for the convenience of Congressmen and people who simply wanted to have a long weekend rather than to celebrate the day. How do I know this? I vividly remember working at summer jobs as a teenager and listening to the radio broadcast of the race, which carried the tag line, Stay tuned for the greatest spectacle in racing! Paracaleboy ( talk) 18:21, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
The assertion that General Logan borrowed in any way from General Murray and a Waterloo observance is without foundation. The reference provided ( http://books.google.com/books?id=XtxJ_zF_ydUC&pg=PA279#v=onepage&q&f=false) does not state that Logan took his ideas from Murray, and it certainly does not provide any primary source evidence to that effect. The claim that Logan gave a speech in 1866 in which he first suggested Memorial Day should be observed is also unfounded. No such text of said speech can be found. When Logan made his declaration in 1868, it was ubiquitously stated that he had "adopted" the Southern custom. To wit, see Boston Daily Advertiser, May 11, 1868; Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 1, 1868; Bangor Daily Whig & Courier (Bangor, ME) Wednesday, May 20, 1868; New York Times, June 5, 1868; Philadelphia Sunday Dispatch, in the Southern Opinion (Richmond), June 6, 1868; Pennsylvania Patriot, May 21, 1868; “The Origin of Decoration Day,” New York Times, June 14, 1869; Galveston, TX Flake’s Bulletin, May 23, 1868. Logan's wife quoted him as saying that "it was not too late to follow the example of our Southern brothers and sisters" when he wrote his Decoration Day order in 1868 (Mrs. John A. Logan, Reminiscences of a Soldier’s Wife (Scribner’s, 1913), 246.)
The claim that Waterloo, NY even held a decoration day on May 5, 1866 has never been supported with primary sources. Its claim to fame is a 1966 resolution of congress that was not founded on research but politics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 20:36, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
I find the distinction that was made this week between "Blight admitted there is no evidence" and "Blight says he has no evidence" to be shallow and pedantic. Blight is a scholar, researcher, and professor employed by none other than Yale University. He has been researching this subject for decades. When Campbell Robertson of the New York Times asked Blight two weeks ago, "what evidence do you have that there that the Charleston event led to the Memorial Day proclamation of 1868," Blight said "I have none." In academic circles when the chief expert on the subject says he has no evidence, it is tantamount to him saying that there is no evidence--for if there were any, Blight would have been the first to find it. Suppose you ask an DNA expert on the witness stand "after examining all the DNA evidence that connects the defendant with the crime, what evidence do you have that there is a connection?" If the expert says "I saw no such evidence," his testimony is that in his opinion there is no such evidence. Blight is the expert witness who has carefully examined the matter for decades. When he says "I saw no such evidence," he is saying that in his view there is no such evidence. It seems to me that the desire to make the distinction must be motivated by some sort of agenda, and I would recommend that it be abandoned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 04:26, 9 June 2012 (UTC)
o Eduardo é bonito sem ele não viveria
o Eduardo é bonito sem ele não viveria — Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.79.107.149 ( talk) 21:31, 7 May 2014 (UTC)
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I would like to post a link to a song about Memorial Day called "The Last Monday in May." It was written in 2013 in my program, Operation Song™, in which I write songs with veterans and active duty military with service related issues. Thanks in advance, Bob Regan, director, Operation Song™, regan615@comcast.net. 615-400-0764 https://soundcloud.com/bob-regan/last-monday-in-may
Regan615 ( talk) 03:13, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
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History of Memorial Day I find that it is important that this information be added because it adds the missing information necessary to understand why this is such an important holiday to Americans.
Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for two weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 black children where they marched, sang, and celebrated.
references: http://www.davidwblight.com/memorial.htm http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/the-first-memorial-day-may-1-1865-reported-in-the-charleston/ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005677467/ http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20090524/PC1602/305249938 There is much more.
Waldolc ( talk) 14:43, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
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In the first line it says " The holiday, which is celebrated " celebrated should read "observed". Memorial Day is not a party. 67.87.189.34 ( talk) 02:39, 22 May 2014 (UTC)
Please review this article.
https://www.facebook.com/afropunk/photos/a.93811151622.90220.47016231622/10152101858321623/?type=1&theater — Preceding unsigned comment added by Victorsj1 ( talk • contribs) 17:46, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
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In the "See also" section ...
"Victoria Day an analogous late-May observance in Canada"
The only thing analogous about Victoria Day when compared to Memorial Day is that they are observed in May. Canada's "Remembrance Day" (also observed in other Commonwealth nations) is a closer parallel to Memorial Day. "Remembrance Day" is a Wikipedia entry, so a hyperlink is possible.
Please consider changing this reference to read:
Rtmc56 ( talk) 03:47, 26 May 2014 (UTC)
It is a shame that this page continues to include the Waterloo legend in the absence of any evidence to support it. The only citation given is to a website posted by local boosters. The primary source evidence proves that the story is a myth. To wit, the primary sources are abundantly clear that the events didn't happen as the local boosters claim. Why Sensei thinks he/she can just ignore primary source evidence over some homespun website is beyond me--certainly an indication that Sensei doesn't know the first thing about doing history. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 02:06, 3 June 2014 (UTC)
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![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 |
It is requested that an edit be made to this semi-protected template (see protection log). In addition, the date for semi-protection expires today, May 30, 2012. Please change "Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union soldiers who died in the Civil War." to "Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the *Union and Confederate* soldiers who died in the Civil War." Sources: 1. The rest of said article is my first source. In the article many sources and facts are used to prove that both the North and the South were honoring and remembering their dead before the day was officially recognized. 2. "Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all." <ref> http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html </ref> 3. "On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union _and Confederate_ soldiers buried there." (emphasis mine) <ref> http://www.history.com/topics/memorial-day-history</ref> -- Nicky face ( talk) 14:04, 30 May 2012 (UTC)Nicky Moore
HI
Question: On Memorial Day, do shops, enterprises etc. work? Because, here in Greece, on National Holidays, the only things that work are cafeterias and restaurants, as well as the TV and radio stations.memorial day is kinda stupid because i dont know....
Should this be memorial day (United States)? 24.94.179.179 15:23, 21 May 2004 (UTC)
I think that Memorial Day is specifically a US holiday. In France and in UK, we honor those who died in time of war on November 11, the date of the armistice of the 1st World War, and called Remembrance Day or Armistice Day which is the American Veterans DAy. From what I understand, there is a public holiday in Greece in October called Ochi Day which celebrates military honors. I see no reference to Memorial Day in Greece nor I am aware of a similar holiday on the same date in other parts of the world. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.242.236.66 ( talk) 10:58, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
An article on Memorial Day is highlighted today at MSN Encarta, located at Memorial Day. Courtland 17:14, 2005 May 30 (UTC)
I was taught that Decoration Day/Memorial Day was established by President Abraham Lincoln. Is there any documentation for this?
Does Memorial Day honor veterans who died after discharge from military service dishonorably? How about those who were convicted of felonies after their discharge from the military? And, of course, does the current federal holiday honor those who served in the Confederate armies but who died later after signing an oath of loyalty to the Union?
"The
USAF "101 Critical days of summer" also begin on this day as well."
Redundant. Please change to either:
The
USAF "101 Critical days of summer" begin on this day as well.
or
The
USAF "101 Critical days of summer" also begin on this day.
Also, since it is an official Air Force title, all of the words should be capitalized except for "of". —The preceding
unsigned comment was added by
Camknows (
talk •
contribs)
21:27, 7 May 2007 (UTC).
While a minor quibble, a better line would be "The US Military's safety campaign, the 101 Critical Days of Summer also begins on this day." Or something along those lines. The Air Force isn't the only branch that participates, at the very least the Marine Corps and the Navy do as well, and Army PowerPoint presentations available through Google indicate that at least some of their posts do as well. Sdsanders 13:58, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
A good reference for information about Memorial Day is at www.memorialday.org. Katiecalif 15:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
This is a bad link to a non-existent page.
- Try this website www.usmemorialday.org You can find out information about US Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have died during our nation's service. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.249.80.138 ( talk) 19:52, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
There are memorial days in other countries too. I believe it should be renamed into USA_Memorial_Day.
Ans: Once there are entries for Memorial Day in other countries, it's certain that the article WILL be renamed. Until then, there's little point in differentiating betwixt entries that exist and those that don't. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.55.0.96 ( talk) 20:37, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
I concur. Let's get articles on Memorial Days in other countries, and create a disambiguation page to allow the reader to select specific article(s). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hersbruck ( talk • contribs) 21:32, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
"The southeastern U.S. celebrates Decoration Day as a day to decorate the graves of all family members, and it is not reserved for those who served in the military. The region observes Decoration Day the Sunday before Memorial Day."
The whole Southeastern region doesn't celebrate this "Decoration Day." A list of the states would be a better reference. I don't know of any celebrations here in North Carolina versus the celebration of Memorial Day itself. The source of the celebration observance is needed to make the "comment" more valid. 65.82.105.98 17:58, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
Agreed. I've never heard of "decoration day" in the South either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.62.75.67 ( talk) 22:41, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
But some of us have heard of it. It tends to be on a date such as the first Sunday after the first Saturday (or whatever)of the month. That goes back to when many small rural churches had services only once a month (although some of the Decoration Days are for family, rather than church, graveyards). This is a very important annual occasion for many of us. These events are sometimes announced in local newspapers now. Owners of local flower shops in those areas can tell you that such events occur on various Sundays during the summer. 50.104.198.87 ( talk) 22:06, 21 January 2012 (UTC)
From childhood (1950s) I recall Decoration Day being held at Brown's Mountain Cemetery on the weekend (held almost like family reunions as many families had moved to the city from the mountain during WWII), and Memorial Day being observed seperately at the veteran's cemetery on a Monday, usually both Decoration Day and Memorial Day being on different days within Memorial Day Weekend. And not all the families who met were members of the church: the criterion for inclusion was having family buried at the cemetery. Decoration Day was and is celebrated by the individual churches or communities, and is a holiday of the people or their local church, not an official state holiday.-- Naaman Brown ( talk) 11:31, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
The comment on the main page saying that Memorial Day was called Decoration Day before the Uniform Monday Holiday Act is not accurate. I was born in 1950, and learned the holidays by 1958 or 1959, and as far as I can remember, it was always called Memorial Day. My father used to call it Decoration Day, but that sounded very old-fashioned. - Ed Gehringer 10 November 2013 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.250.49.213 ( talk) 01:35, 11 November 2013 (UTC)
This is also a UK/European holiday known as Whitsun, which I note doesnt have an article. A bit POV, methinks, and needs resolving, SqueakBox 19:52, 28 May 2007 (UTC)
To me, Memorial Day is still springtime. But I live in Western Oregon where the hottest time of year runs from late June through mid-September, so the "start of summer" definition may work better for the hot-summer climates.
In Minnesota (certainly not a "hot southern climate") most of us consider Memorial Day the unofficial start of summer. Most of the kids here get out of school within the next week or two, most people go to the lake for a weekend for the first time and a lot of activities that are thought of as summer activities start around this time.
dude —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.23.169.58 ( talk) 20:51, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
Maybe it should say that it is the start of the summer vacation/beach season. Many beaches in the NE USA open then. Also, for fashionistas, is it the start of the period when it is considered proper to wear white? - BPilgraim — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rselcov ( talk • contribs) 12:28, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
Perhaps I've missed it somewhere, but there doesn't appear to be any argument supporting the application of a POV flag to this article and I've removed it. -- JakeInJoisey ( talk) 15:29, 24 May 2008 (UTC)
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I deleted the McCutcheon cartoon because it is non-neutral political propaganda. I think it shows incredibly poor judgement on the part of the editor who inserted it to put an anti-war cartoon on a Memorial Day encyclopedia entry. John Chamberlain ( talk) 20:15, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
It is possible the person who tagged this article for POV before did so because of the McCutcheon cartoon.
While the changes I made are almost minor, I believe they reflect both better grammar and composition.
1.) The subject of this article is contained in both the title and first 2 words of the opening paragraph. Repetition of the subject name as opposed to "it" in the relatively short introduction (3 sentences) strikes me as linguistic overkill. Nobody's memory or reading skill is THAT bad. Comments?
2.) In my opinion there is no comma required following "after World War 1" in the second sentence as it is a necessary qualifier to the remainder of the sentence. For example, the sentence might also be concluded thusly...
"...it was expanded to include casualties of any war or military action after World War I."
In that case the insertion of a comma after "action" would not make sense and, perhaps, that is a better edit afterall. In fact, re-reading the text, I'll insert the above and solicit...Comments? -- JakeInJoisey ( talk) 14:24, 25 May 2008 (UTC)
Two points: 1. The page currently mentions that Boalsburg, PA is the official birthplace of Memorial Day. This is not true; whatever claim Boalsburg may have to being the actual birthplace, the official birthplace was designated by Congress to be Waterloo, N.Y. Please change this ASAP (as a lot of people will access this page today - can't change it myself due to semiprotected status).
2. The above and a lot of other useful information about Memorial Day (including the fact that it was originally created as Decoration Day, can be found at this page by the Dept of Veterans Affairs.
JeroenKvanH ( talk) 21:44, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
This article has a lot of issues with factual accuracy & OR. One such example is this: "the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard & built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard; a very daring thing to do in the South shortly after North's victory. On May 30 1868 the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they'd picked from the countryside & decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the 1st Decoration Day. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic." and "The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter, and because it is likely that the friendship of General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who led the call for the day to be observed each year and helped spread the event nationwide, was a key factor in its growth." or even "Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns." Now, these sentences (and some are even whole paragraphs) are completely unreferenced, hence, I am challenging the factual accuracy of this article. RC-0722 361.0/ 1 04:23, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
Just this past Memorial Day, my wife mentioned to me that she had always bought red poppies from the VFW for Memorial Day. I had never heard of this tradition, so I spent an hour or so perusing the Web on the subject. http://www.botanical.com/site/column_rita/flanders.html summarizes most of the the historical points I was able to find. http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.levelc&cid=127 discusses the involvement VFW in this tradition. I really can't research it out the way it needs to be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.220.228.170 ( talk) 13:20, 27 May 2008 (UTC)
Please add "American" to: First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
Please add where appropriate: Memorial Day in the United States typically does not offer the remembrance of fallen non-American military service personnel nor persons killed by the American military services either in or outside of the US. Mingmasterz ( talk) 19:12, 27 May 2008 (UTC)MingmasterZ
{{ original research}} and {{ refimprove}} from back in date=May 2008 have been removed. It appears to be an old edit war which prompted these. I was WP:BOLD and removed them as the article seems to have improved since them. If you have specific issues with the article, please mention them here so all editors can see and address them. — MrDolomite • Talk 05:25, 23 April 2009 (UTC)
In the "Traditional observance" section, the article currently states that 3PM Eastern time is the moment for observance. But on the government site www.remember.gov, it states that it is 3PM local time:
"""Wherever you are, observe the Moment at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day. Ask others to remember—relatives, friends, church, neighborhood, or co-workers to observe the Moment at places such as your neighborhood, local pool, picnic grounds, etc., for one minute of Remembrance. Participation can be informal as ringing a bell three times to signify the Moment."""
67.132.99.226 ( talk) 17:34, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_South_Korea page links to Memorial Day, but the text in that page refers to their own holiday, rather than commemorating the American version (which is possible, given the number of US troops there).
Should not the general "Memorial Day" article be about the type of holiday in general, with links or disambigs to the national-specific holidays? (Memorial_Day_(US), Memorial_Day_(South_Korea), etc...?) 70.142.51.21 ( talk) 00:21, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
I want to kow what it is —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.163.174.86 ( talk) 18:41, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
A reference for the origins of Memorial Day are here. General Logan's wife gives her personal account about visiting a historic church and whilst passing through the graveyard, noticed the flowers and confederate flags decorating the tombstones by the survivors of the fallen soldiers. Upon her return to Washington, DC she spoke of its effect upon her to her husband General Logan who proceeded to pass legislation to create a "Memorial Day" in the month of May for all the fallen soldiers of both sides.<ref>http://memorialdayorigin.info/logan.html</ref>
Your current account seems erroneous since slaves were only free in the 'rebellious' states (see the reference below) and were not necessarily the ones decorating the graves as you list.
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, ... in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, ...the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
<ref>http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/transcript.html</ref>
Please document facts with references. -- Robin in Cody ( talk) 16:16, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
In the second paragraph of Memorial Day Order, is play the correct word? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.93.6.57 ( talk) 18:31, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
Whether in a time of war or not it seems only fitting that a link to the facebook group "Memorial Day" would be found relevant by many of their 200 million users. Is there err in this thinking? 74.69.228.244 ( talk) 21:51, 25 May 2009 (UTC)
When did the holiday known for generations as "Decoration Day" get the drastic name change to "Memorial Day"? Some info would be useful. -- Infrogmation ( talk) 05:52, 26 May 2009 (UTC)
"Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials and eating lots of chocolate candy in the shape of US war heads."
I deleted the reference to the chocolate warheads. I have lived in various parts of the United States and never once even seen a chocolate candy in the shape of a war head [sic], much less anyone eating one on Memorial Day or any other day. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ColourMyEyes ( talk • contribs) 17:32, 5 April 2010 (UTC)
Does Wikipedia have a standard, accepted spelling for Presidents Day? In this article, it appears as both Presidents' Day and President's Day. PlaysInPeoria ( talk) 16:58, 14 May 2010 (UTC)
Both these pictures show quite clearly all the graves are marked with crosses. I think the article could be considerably improved by showing at least one picture with graves marked with the Islamic and Jewish symbols or any other (Hindu?) Many Americans who are not Christians fought and died for their country but this looks as though only Christians did. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.76.165.161 ( talk) 19:03, 30 May 2010 (UTC)
I find that the entry does not take a neutral point of view and needs to be edited. In particular, the reference to the observance of Memorial Day fading in "liberal cities" during the 1960's and this sentence: "Conservatives revived the practice of honoring Memorial Day in the 1980s, under the leadership especially of President Ronald Reagan." This seems like a very politicized view of the history of this holiday.
Jglass54 ( talk) 20:19, 31 May 2010 (UTC)
There seem to be a lot of '1865's in there, indicating that in 1865 the Union prison was at that time a racecourse and that the celebration of the liberation of slaves and also the decorating of graves both occurred in this year. Second para goes on to say that "By 1865 the practice of decorating soldiers' graves had become widespread in the North". "By 1865" should be changed to "Within the same year..." if that's the case. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.140.133.57 ( talk) 11:02, 3 June 2010 (UTC)
I read the version on David Blight's website of his research; it is a wonderful story that deserves to be told, but he does not actually say or produce any evidence to say that this is in any way the origin of Memorial Day, just that this was the first celebration that resembled the later Decoration Day celebrations. I moved the story down from the first section to avoid that implication. It would probably be good to make that even more clear, but I can't quite figure out how to word it at the moment. Brianyoumans ( talk) 15:25, 3 June 2010 (UTC)
The article states, "Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010)." The last Monday of May is the 30th. I tried to change it but it is a code, "(May 27 in 2024)." I don't know how to fix this.
Thanks! Sezuni ( talk) 02:11, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
Please first see my comments above under "Charleston Story". I have looked yet again at Blight's webpage; he is not claiming that the Charleston observance turned into a yearly event immediately (please read his piece, the link is in the Charleston Story section above.) He also never actually says that the Charleston observance influenced the later development of Memorial Day in any way - it was just very similar to the way the holiday came to be celebrated. And I do think that this story needs to be in the article, but not as "this is how Memorial Day began" - because I don't think that is really accurate. Could we have some comments from others on this? Or do we need to ask for some outside editors to join in? Brianyoumans ( talk) 15:05, 16 February 2011 (UTC)
It is astonishing to see the amount of vandalism done to this article within the past week. Sections deleted for no apparent reason of justification. Pictures taken off and then having to revert edits to put them back on. I think until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend is over, this page needs to be semi-protected. The edits are getting out of hand. Yoganate79 ( talk) 00:11, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
You are all offensive. You have politicized and demonized this article along racial lines during a time period when families are remembering their loved ones who died so young these past 10 years and earlier wars. You all hide under the guise of factual reporting when this could have been done at at different time. The contributions made by African Americans to our history has now been second classed into a two sentence comment towards the bottom of the page. It is amazing how people will claim no written documentation about actions performed by African Americans when pre-Civil war slaves were not allowed to learn to read and write. These are actions and duties that were passed down verbally for generations until it was ok for African Americans to become educated without a cross being burned on their front laws or being hung from a tree. Wikipedia allows for this change but I think it is time they block any changes to this article until QUALIFIED historians can contribute to this article. Here it is we are in 2011 and all races have equally committed to and served our country and we have hobby historians still causing mischief and strife using the power of the internet. Jerks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Moganblack ( talk • contribs) 17:29, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
The following from the History Channel is probably more accurate than your assertions that blacks created Memorial Day, which is simply absurd!
"By proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, the first major Memorial Day observance is held to honor those who died "in defense of their country during the late rebellion." Known to some as "Decoration Day," mourners honored the Civil War dead by decorating their graves with flowers. On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.
The 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances that had taken place in various locations in the three years since the end of the Civil War. In fact, several cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; and Carbondale, Illinois. In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon B. Johnson, declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo--which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866--because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.185.171.66 ( talk) 12:43, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
Since it seems that I am not alone in thinking that there is more to the history of Memorial Day than what David Blight says about it, I have revised the article a bit. I took all mention of the history of the holiday out of the lead, which I think is a good idea regardless. I also removed some of the material that seemed like overkill and/or was not supported by Blight's work, like implying that the celebration in Charleston was called "Decoration Day" (which it wasn't). I think it is logical to start by mentioning the "Charleston Story" (as I call it), and then proceed to the origins of the holiday in the North and then the South - that is chronological and makes sense to me. I think we really need to avoid implying that the events in Charleston influenced the origins of the holiday in the North. I think he would like it to be true, but I don't think he can claim it in a peer-reviewed paper, because he has no evidence that anyone up North said, "Hey, that commemoration in Charleston sounds great... let's do that here!" Logan's proclamation seems much more important in spreading the holiday nationwide. And the real answer is that some sort of commemoration probably seemed logical to grieving populations all over, and a similar sort of holiday would have arisen in any case. Please use this talk page to talk things over. This is a contentious and emotional issue. This article deserves to be better, and that doesn't come from lots of anonymous and unilateral editing. By the way, I withdraw my comment above that Blight is only an African-American studies professor; he is a history professor. I was misled by his title as head of the "Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance & Abolition". Brianyoumans ( talk) 16:06, 5 July 2011 (UTC)
Sources in the bibliography are supposed to have been cited in the article. If not, they will be moved to the header "Further reading". Each paragraph of the article needs at least one inline citation to support it, as a number of historic assertions are being made. Parkwells ( talk) 12:06, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
I don't have Blight's book. What are his references for the Charleston event being referred to as the "First Decoration Day" later? Brianyoumans ( talk) 16:49, 27 April 2012 (UTC)
The work of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in establishing a Memorial Day tradition in the South is an essential part of the story, much of which involves the reconciliation of former enemies in a common national spirit. Rjensen ( talk) 18:04, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
Including a significant amount of information about the UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy) in the history of Memorial Day section is an incredibly unscholarly, uninformed, and ridiculous measure. Southern Memorial Day began in April of 1866. The UDC wasn't born until 1894 nearly thirty years later. The UDC had nothing to do with the history of Memorial day. Nothing. This looks like an agenda. Now, the predecessor organizations of the UDC, such as the Ladies Memorial Association, had much to do with Memorial Day History. And what's more, those Ladies Associations were largely involved in the famous reconciliation events around memorial day that RJensen erroneously has attributed to the UDC. If you read Neff, Janney, Blight, Faust, or any other scholars of the event, there is no scholarly dispute about this. The UDC came much later, and had nothing to do with the history of this holiday. Does the UDC care about memorial day? Of course they do! So do the boy scouts and girl scouts. That doesn't make them an important part of the history of this day. I've been teaching in the University for some time now and I need to see RJensen's citations that the UDC had something to do with establishing memorial day. It's simply bogus. This wiki article is going to land on SNOPES as propagating a false assertion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 18:40, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
The grammar and punctuation of this section needed much help. Additionally, historians do not "argue" that the LMA played a key role, they simply acknowledge it. It's a little strange to identify the "Lost Cause" as a myth because if you do you seem to be suggesting that the cause of the Confederacy did not lose--that it's a myth that slavery was wrong! Why would you want to assert such? Do you think that the idea that the Confederacy "lost" is a myth? The "Lost Cause" is an ideology, a sentiment, and definitely a politically incorrect one, but "myth"? That word doesn't fit.
The previous author maintains that the Southern Confederate Memorial day merged into the national May 30th tradition. I changed that to "partially" because most southern states still maintain separate Confederate Memorial Day holidays. [signed: Hilltoppers]
As a resident of DC and former rider myself, I'm surprised to not see any mention of Rolling Thunder, a major bike rally held every year in conjunction with Memorial Day weekend. Some years attract as many as 350,000 bikes, which mainly stage in the Pentagon parking lot to ride in to the city, past the national capital's many monuments and tributes to those who have died serving. This ride is primarily done to raise/maintain awareness for POW/MIA soldiers from all U.S. conflicts. It would be great to see something about this included in the Memorial Day wiki. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.143.120.238 ( talk) 19:18, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
The article on Memorial Day includes the following statement: the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend This is erroneous. The race was always held on May 30, the original holiday, until relatively recently, probably after that odious law was passed shifting many holidays to Mondays. This was done for the convenience of Congressmen and people who simply wanted to have a long weekend rather than to celebrate the day. How do I know this? I vividly remember working at summer jobs as a teenager and listening to the radio broadcast of the race, which carried the tag line, Stay tuned for the greatest spectacle in racing! Paracaleboy ( talk) 18:21, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
The assertion that General Logan borrowed in any way from General Murray and a Waterloo observance is without foundation. The reference provided ( http://books.google.com/books?id=XtxJ_zF_ydUC&pg=PA279#v=onepage&q&f=false) does not state that Logan took his ideas from Murray, and it certainly does not provide any primary source evidence to that effect. The claim that Logan gave a speech in 1866 in which he first suggested Memorial Day should be observed is also unfounded. No such text of said speech can be found. When Logan made his declaration in 1868, it was ubiquitously stated that he had "adopted" the Southern custom. To wit, see Boston Daily Advertiser, May 11, 1868; Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 1, 1868; Bangor Daily Whig & Courier (Bangor, ME) Wednesday, May 20, 1868; New York Times, June 5, 1868; Philadelphia Sunday Dispatch, in the Southern Opinion (Richmond), June 6, 1868; Pennsylvania Patriot, May 21, 1868; “The Origin of Decoration Day,” New York Times, June 14, 1869; Galveston, TX Flake’s Bulletin, May 23, 1868. Logan's wife quoted him as saying that "it was not too late to follow the example of our Southern brothers and sisters" when he wrote his Decoration Day order in 1868 (Mrs. John A. Logan, Reminiscences of a Soldier’s Wife (Scribner’s, 1913), 246.)
The claim that Waterloo, NY even held a decoration day on May 5, 1866 has never been supported with primary sources. Its claim to fame is a 1966 resolution of congress that was not founded on research but politics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 20:36, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
I find the distinction that was made this week between "Blight admitted there is no evidence" and "Blight says he has no evidence" to be shallow and pedantic. Blight is a scholar, researcher, and professor employed by none other than Yale University. He has been researching this subject for decades. When Campbell Robertson of the New York Times asked Blight two weeks ago, "what evidence do you have that there that the Charleston event led to the Memorial Day proclamation of 1868," Blight said "I have none." In academic circles when the chief expert on the subject says he has no evidence, it is tantamount to him saying that there is no evidence--for if there were any, Blight would have been the first to find it. Suppose you ask an DNA expert on the witness stand "after examining all the DNA evidence that connects the defendant with the crime, what evidence do you have that there is a connection?" If the expert says "I saw no such evidence," his testimony is that in his opinion there is no such evidence. Blight is the expert witness who has carefully examined the matter for decades. When he says "I saw no such evidence," he is saying that in his view there is no such evidence. It seems to me that the desire to make the distinction must be motivated by some sort of agenda, and I would recommend that it be abandoned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 04:26, 9 June 2012 (UTC)
o Eduardo é bonito sem ele não viveria
o Eduardo é bonito sem ele não viveria — Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.79.107.149 ( talk) 21:31, 7 May 2014 (UTC)
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I would like to post a link to a song about Memorial Day called "The Last Monday in May." It was written in 2013 in my program, Operation Song™, in which I write songs with veterans and active duty military with service related issues. Thanks in advance, Bob Regan, director, Operation Song™, regan615@comcast.net. 615-400-0764 https://soundcloud.com/bob-regan/last-monday-in-may
Regan615 ( talk) 03:13, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
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History of Memorial Day I find that it is important that this information be added because it adds the missing information necessary to understand why this is such an important holiday to Americans.
Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for two weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 black children where they marched, sang, and celebrated.
references: http://www.davidwblight.com/memorial.htm http://www.readthespirit.com/explore/the-first-memorial-day-may-1-1865-reported-in-the-charleston/ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005677467/ http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20090524/PC1602/305249938 There is much more.
Waldolc ( talk) 14:43, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
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In the first line it says " The holiday, which is celebrated " celebrated should read "observed". Memorial Day is not a party. 67.87.189.34 ( talk) 02:39, 22 May 2014 (UTC)
Please review this article.
https://www.facebook.com/afropunk/photos/a.93811151622.90220.47016231622/10152101858321623/?type=1&theater — Preceding unsigned comment added by Victorsj1 ( talk • contribs) 17:46, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
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In the "See also" section ...
"Victoria Day an analogous late-May observance in Canada"
The only thing analogous about Victoria Day when compared to Memorial Day is that they are observed in May. Canada's "Remembrance Day" (also observed in other Commonwealth nations) is a closer parallel to Memorial Day. "Remembrance Day" is a Wikipedia entry, so a hyperlink is possible.
Please consider changing this reference to read:
Rtmc56 ( talk) 03:47, 26 May 2014 (UTC)
It is a shame that this page continues to include the Waterloo legend in the absence of any evidence to support it. The only citation given is to a website posted by local boosters. The primary source evidence proves that the story is a myth. To wit, the primary sources are abundantly clear that the events didn't happen as the local boosters claim. Why Sensei thinks he/she can just ignore primary source evidence over some homespun website is beyond me--certainly an indication that Sensei doesn't know the first thing about doing history. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hilltoppers ( talk • contribs) 02:06, 3 June 2014 (UTC)
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