The True Meaning of Memorial Day
If you ask most Americans, few have any idea why we celebrate Memorial Day. A recent Gallup Poll revealed that only 28 percent of Americans know the true meaning behind this national holiday. To far too many, the last Monday in May is little more than a much-deserved day off, an opportunity to buy a car at a rock-bottom price, grill a burger in the backyard, or catch a few rays at the beach. Memorial Day is a big opportunity for racing enthusiasts too; the Indianapolis 500 has been held on the holiday since 1911.
Clearly, our modern-day Memorial Day celebration is miles away from the original intent of its founders. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic as a day to remember those who had fallen as a result of the Civil War. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The Civil War produced more than 1,030,000 casualties (3% of the population), including approximately 620,000 soldier deaths—two-thirds by disease. The war accounted for more casualties than all other U.S. wars combined.
Here are some other equally horrifying casualty statistics:
- World War I: 116,516
- World War II: 418,000
- Korea: 36,516
- Vietnam: 47,413
- Iraq: 4,300 (as of May 24, 2009)
Most of us take the freedoms we enjoy for granted, but those freedoms were paid for at a very high cost —brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice so we would have the honor of living in the greatest nation on earth. One need only visit a veteran’s cemetery, and see row after row of white crosses, to grasp the gravity of that sacrifice. Those souls gave their all so we could have the right, and the freedom, to enjoy the American way of life.
So today, before you bring out the lawn chairs and light the barbecue, take a moment to contemplate the gift of freedom you have been so unselfishly given. Those who have sacrificed their lives have earned it.
Reminds me what Christ did for us all those years ago. He was the ultimate sacrifice to truly give us freedom.