By Carol Fisher-Linn
Called “Decoration Day” into my adulthood, the day became “Memorial Day” in 1971. The first recognition of this day (as Decoration Day) was May 30,1868 at Arlington Cemetery by Ohio Rep. James A. Garfield, a former general and future U. S. President (and several times Great+ grandfather-in-law of Ellicottville’s Jenna Rogan Garfield). He gave a speech extolling Americans to honor their war dead. At the end, the more than 5,000 persons present went into the cemetery to pay homage to the thousands of graves in the newly established Arlington National Cemetery, many with flowers to decorate the graves. The amount of carnage in the Civil War was likely the cause for this acute awareness and need to pay homage. In all the previous conflicts fought by the U. S. casualties did not add up to the number lost in the Civil War.
the significance of the red poppy flower arose during the
Great War (WWI). The once bucolic fields around Flanders,
Belgium, had been decimated by the bombardments of battle.
Yet among the rubble and bloodshed, these brilliant beauties
were able to bloom. Hence, the red poppy became a symbol of
what was, for our lost veterans, the ultimate sacrifice.
The GAR (Grand Old Army of the Republic) adopted it as an official Day of Remembrance – honoring the Civil War’s dead with flags and flowers on the graves of Union soldiers. Research shows that the war victims in the south were also honored … in Charleston, S. Carolina (5.1.1865) the recently freed black populous sponsored a 10,000 strong parade to honor 257 Union soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave at the Washington Racecourse, having died at the Confederate prison camp located there. These freed black people unearthed them all, reburied them with honor and placed flowers at their graves. Eventually, all states adopted Decoration Day resolutions. After later wars, “Decoration Day” became “Memorial Day,” honoring all our fallen military including the 2400 plus troops lost in the Afghan conflict which ended a mere four years ago.
The name may have changed, but the honoring with flowers has not. Beginning back in the 1900’s, according to The American Legion, the significance of the red poppy flower arose during the Great War (WWI). The once bucolic fields around Flanders, Belgium, had been decimated by the bombardments of battle. Yet among the rubble and bloodshed, these brilliant beauties were able to bloom. Hence, the red poppy became a symbol of what was, for our lost veterans, the ultimate sacrifice. In spring, 1915, a Lieutenant Colonel/battle surgeon John McCrae observed, first-hand what turned out to be the death of 87,000 Allied soldiers. Through all the carnage, he was struck by the red poppies that still blanketed the area. He was so touched that he wrote a poem, “In Flanders Fields,” speaking for those who had died. Later that year, it was published in a magazine and became the standout piece that emerged from World War I. By 1920 the first chapter of the American legion made the poppy its official flower in memory of those deceased warriors. Shortly after, the VFW began distributing them and then the American Legion did likewise. As the holiday approaches, you’ll notice these bright flowers everywhere: pinned onto clothing, tied onto rearview mirrors, or hanging in windows. Check with your local Legion and VFW auxiliary to see if they have them before Memorial day since the Friday before Memorial Day is National Poppy Day.
Did you know there is flag etiquette for Memorial Day? Memorial Day has its own set of rules for flying your flag. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans, “On Memorial Day the flag should be flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon only, then raised briskly to the top of the staff until sunset, in honor of the nation’s battle heroes.” As for displaying the flag on your home, code says the union of the flag should be placed at the peak unless the flag is at half-staff. When it’s suspended from a rope extending from the building on a pole, the flag should be hoisted out from the building, union first.
If you wish to place a small flag on a veteran’s grave, etiquette states that you place it one foot in front of the headstone, in the center. It should be removed after the holiday. Ask the cemetery director if someone there could remove it if you cannot return to do so. Enjoy the holiday but please stop the festivities and take a moment at 3pm for sixty seconds of silence for our brave deceased veterans honoring them in the National Moment of Remembrance.