As families prepare to celebrate the three-day Memorial Day weekend with barbecues and trips to the lake, for many the holiday is a much more solemn affair.
Americans began to recognize Memorial Day in 1868, and it was established it as a federal holiday in 1971. Originally known as “Decoration Day,” the holiday started with communities coming together to decorate the graves of those who died during service.
“Every generation, from the Civil War to both World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam, has had men who have either paid the ultimate sacrifice or have been injured. So, it's ingrained in our DNA to stand in the gap,” National Guard veteran Bill Hansen told the Wounded Warrior Project. “To stand in the gap is to serve and support our country, and our family, even when others don’t."
After the Civil War, Americans began holding tributes in the spring, decorating graves with flowers, reciting prayers, and honoring the estimated 620,000 fallen soldiers of the war (2% of the population at the time). In 1866, the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day when the city closed all businesses so residents could decorate the gravesites of soldiers with flowers and American flags every year.
There are Memorial Day events happening around the region, below are more details on two:
Turlock Memorial Park
Turlock Memorial Park & Funeral Home will once again host a Memorial Day ceremony at the Turlock cemetery. This will be the 62nd Avenue of the Flags lining the walkways of the cemetery in honor of veterans. The ceremony will be held starting at 9:30 a.m. Monday and include speeches from local dignitaries and the Turlock Honor Guard. Turlock Memorial Park is located at 575 N. Soderquist Rd.
San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery
The Department of Veterans Affairs San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Santa Nella will host a solemn Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony on Sunday, accompanied by speeches, a moment of silence, and the playing of Taps and a rifle volley.
All members of the local community are welcome to attend. The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m.
Keynote speaker will be State Senator Anna Caballero. Guest speakers will include State Assembly Member Esmeralda Soria and Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Smith (DPAA). Also attending will be the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West.
Veterans Affairs operates 156 national cemeteries and 34 soldiers’ lots and monument sites in 44 states and Puerto Rico. More than 5.4 million people – including 4.1 million veterans from the Revolutionary War to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – are buried in Veteran Affairs national cemeteries.
Veterans Affairs also provides headstones, markers or medallions for Veterans buried in state, territorial and tribal Veterans cemeteries or interred in private cemeteries.
