It’s never wrong to thank a veteran or active-duty military personal for their service, but even they will tell you that officially Memorial Day is not for them.The official day to thank our veterans is Veterans Day; Armed Forces Day is set aside for active-duty military. Memorial Day is specifically reserved for those who gave their “last full measure” in service to our nation. We must understand that the holiday began as a day to decorate the graves of those who died fighting during the Civil War.The holiday originally known as Decoration Day got its start the year after the Civil War ended in April of 1865. By the spring of 1866, Southern women were still dealing with the physical effects of the destruction of the South. but just as strongly struggling from the mental effects of having lost the war. One way to cope with the loss was the creation of what is known as the “Lost Cause,” which maintained that Southern soldiers were heroic men who only lost because of the overwhelming strength and size of Northern army and the North’s industrial output. As a way to honor these Southern men, women’s clubs organized to maintain cemeteries and also to establish Decoration Days to adorn the Confederate graves with flowers.While there are several examples of graves being decorated as early as 1861, the first organized event is still debated. The two cities that seem to have the best claim of the first official Decoration Day were both named Columbus, one in Georgia and the other in Mississippi. The best evidence seems to exist that Mary Ann Williams of Georgia first thought of a national day to decorate graves with flowers and chose April 26 as it marked the end of the war the previous year.Williams sent letters to newspapers across the South asking for others to join her. It seems as if the women of Mississippi liked the idea and had their own celebration but had theirs a day earlier. Years later Pennsylvania and New York both claimed it was women in their states who held the first Decoration Days, but there is little evidence to support these claims. It should be noted that with both Columbus’ Decoration Days the patrons cleaned and decorated graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers. These women had greater reason to hate the other side than we do today. Yet they honored ...
