The origins of Memorial Day

Susan Doak

SW Nebraska

Genealogy Society

MCCOOK, Neb. -- Each spring my mother would gather the peonies and iris blooms to place on graves for Decoration Day. Most of the iris plants that I grow originated in my grandmother's garden, moved to mother's garden in Indianola, then to McCook, only to be once more uprooted and planted in my yard when it was time to sell mom's home. None of those flowers will be blooming yet in my garden by this Decoration Day, May 26.

Ninety-nine years prior, John Logan, commander of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic), said that May 30 should be for decorating the graves of the Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War. That first year, 1868, graves throughout the northern parts of the United States were decorated and by 1890 Decoration Day became an official state holiday for the Northern States.

The Southern states did not officially start recognizing Decoration Day until after World War I, which apparently erased part of the pain of the Civil War, re- joining our country as both North and South grieved their loved ones killed in that conflict.

My father found the changing the name and date of Decoration Day, which was to be celebrated on May 30, a hedonistic reaction to the desire to have three-day weekends in our country. He felt it was a travesty to change tradition for convenience, but Decoration Day became Memorial Day and the date went from May 30 to the last Monday in May in 1968, to create a three day weekend.

If you have someone within your family history who was listed as missing in action or whose remains were buried on foreign soil, got to www.abmc.gov to search their extensive list of 218,000 + military casualties whose bodies are interred (or MIA) on foreign soil. The American Battle Monuments Commission was formed in 1923 to oversee the cemeteries and monuments located on foreign and U.S. soil dedicated to honoring those who gave the supreme sacrifice for their country on foreign soil. Most humbling are those who were missing in action.

At the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, this inscription honors those names: IN THESE GARDENS ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF AMERICANS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY AND WHOSE EARTHLY RESTING PLACE IS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD. Registered among those names are two familiar to me: Daniel Wayne Thomas and Michael Steele Confer. The ABMC pages give these descriptions for them; two of our many local heroes:

Captain Thomas was a member of the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron. On July 6, 1971, he was the pilot of a North American Rockwell Bronco (OV10-A) on a visual reconnaissance 15 miles inside Laos west of Ben Het, when the aircraft disappeared. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial

Lieutenant Junior Grade Confer was a member of Attack Squadron 23, Carrier Air Wing 2 aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Coral Sea (CVA-43). On October 10, 1966, he was the pilot of a Douglas Attack Aircraft Skyhawk (A-4E) over North Vietnam when his aircraft crashed and exploded. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

May we all take a moment from our three-day weekend to honor those who have insured that we can enjoy our families, eat that BBQ, or just relax on the couch watching old movies!