Remember

[Jock Scot]

Jock: Flags are flown at 1/2 mast until noon and then raised to full mast right at noon. Memorial Day ceremonies often include this as part of the service and it is very moving. I am not drawing comparisons, but I love the tradition from Remembrance Day ceremonies of the pipes playing Flowers of the Forest, it just really moves me.

As you know traditions are very close to my heart and I like to try to understand how other countries observe theirs, particularly how a country remembers their Fallen and those that have served and those who are still serving their country.

I am old enough to just remember WW2 and all those young men and women from all over the world who gave so much in a common cause.

We do not forget.

[CMcG]

<snip> I am old enough to just remember WW2 and all those young men and women from all over the world who gave so much in a common cause.

We do not forget.

I am not at all old enough to remember WW2 but I had an interesting experience once regarding someone who was.

Once upon a time I was backpacking in Europe and made my way to Holland. I had a Canadian flag on my bag, as did my traveling companion, and we had only been off the train 5 minutes when we were approached by an older fellow regarding our nationality. In broken English, he told us he remembered Canadian soldiers liberating Holland at the end of WW2, he then he shook our hands, and thanked us with tears in his eyes!

For me, that really drove home the importance of what our soldiers do...

[piperdbh]

In my little hometown, sometimes there is a ceremony at noon at the courthouse, and my 'pipes teacher usually plays a couple of tunes for it.

Like Drac was alluding to, for many people the day is not so much about remembering military personnel, but about planning vacations and grilling hamburgers. It's up to us to keep them reminded.

[Drac]

Some moving shots of Arlington -

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Arling..._wl/1306524547

Jim

[tripleblessed]

Jock, as is almost always the case, the official version that everybody knows is neither the whole story or what happened. In November 1864 a battle was fought at Franklin, Tennessee, one of the sharpest and deadliest of the war. 35 or 36,000 withdrawing Federal troops reached the town and dug in. 25,000 following Southern troops were thrown at them in a tactical error foreseen by the subordinate generals overruled by a newly placed commander, and 6 of them died. A nearby home owned by the McGavock family was inundated by the casualties. Of the 28 Confederate generals on the field, 15 were casualties, and 65 field grade officers were lost in a 5-hour battle that was in many minds the end of that army. The Lady of the plantation took on the job of tending casualties, together with her family and slaves. Nearly 1500 bodies were buried in her fields, and she lovingly cared for them as long as she lived. Probably inspired by her example, many Southern women began placing flowers on the graves of their lost loved ones in local civic demonstrations, at the time when flowers make the South glorious, many settling on April 26th, the day Gen, Joe Johnston surrendered his command. A Federal general officer, not to be outdone, ordered similar ceremony for Northern dead. He chose another day to be different. U.S. Representatives, citing the spontaneous displays of Southern women, passed legislation for a national day for placing flowers and flags on the graves. In my childhood, we observed Confederate Memorial Day as a more personal and solemn day, but honored Decoration Day as well, as following World War I it was expanded from being only about Northern dead to the dead from all US wars. Following World War I, Armistice Day was created, observed Nov. 11th each year. Following World War II the name was changed to Veterans Day. It and Memorial Day have become national days of observance for all wars. Confederate Memorial Day continues to be observed across the South as well, still April 26th, but not as strongly remembered as it once was.

So the answer about May 30th is that following the Southern observances in 1867, IFIRC, on May 5th Gen. John Logan ordered observance for Northern dead, and needing time to prepare, chose May 30th as convenient that year. It stuck.

[Mael Coluim]

THANK YOU!

[tripleblessed]

Thanks, Ern, for that picture. And a belated thanks to CelticSire for posting "In Flanders Fields", as it was studying this in the 4th or 5th grade which brought home to me the magnitude of the cost of war, and the lack of glory therein. The only glory there is in the spirits of those who stand for us all, willing to pay that cost.

Remember, indeed.

[macwilkin]

I hope you don't mind a Brit asking, but what is the significance of May 30th for the USA?Why that day?

We have Nov 11th as a Commonwealth "Remembrance Day" and as I expect many know, Nov 11th 1918 was the last day of WW1 and that is "our" chosen day.

Information:

http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
http://www.suvcw.org/logan.htm

T.