ALL>> On May 29th, 2017 the Veteran’s Wall Committee for the Freedom Wall in Grand Terrace will be holding a Memorial Day presentation to honor military personnel who have died in the service of their country, particularly those who have died in battle or through wounds sustained in battle. The presentation will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Veterans Freedom Park (Pico Park) in Grand Terrace, California. The ceremony will feature the reading of names of those veterans on the wall that were killed in action.
Memorial Day was started after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, when the head of an organization of Union veterans—the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Major General John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day be observed on May 30, a time when flowers were believed to bloom throughout the Country. The first observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War.
Businesses were closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were informal, not community-wide or one-time events. By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day events were being held on May 30, throughout the nation. Now, Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May.
Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but Memorial Day features those military veterans who died in the service through wounds received in battle, while Veterans Day remembers all veterans who have died in service plus thanking all those who have served honorably in the military—in wartime or peacetime. Please join the Veteran’s Wall Committee in celebrating this year’s Memorial Day event at the Freedom Wall in Grand Terrace.