Last Updated: May 26, 2023
In recognition of this year’s Memorial Day holiday, Team AgLearn is providing information to honor those who have given their lives in service of their country.
The information below is a portion of content quoted from President Biden's Proclamation on Prayer For Peace, Memorial Day, 2023 External Link
"On Memorial Day, we honor America’s beloved daughters and sons who gave their last full measure of devotion to this Nation. We can never fully repay the debt we owe these fallen heroes. But today, we vow to rededicate ourselves to the work for which they gave their lives, and we recommit to supporting the families, caregivers, and survivors they left behind."
Background
Memorial Day commemorates all the women and men who have died while in military service and will be observed this year on May 29, 2023, the last Monday in May as designated by Federal law (36 U.S.C. 116 External Link).
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, 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. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30. It is believed the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies centered around the mourning- draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
- Public Law 106-579 External Link, signed into law December 28, 2000, designated 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Memorial Day each year as the ‘‘National Moment of Remembrance" and created the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance.
- More information about the Memorial Day holiday in the United States External Link
- President Biden's Proclamation on Prayer For Peace, Memorial Day, 2023 External Link
Event
May 29th: The National Moment of Remembrance – at 3 p.m. local time, Americans pause for one minute to remember those who have died.
Coins on a Gravestone: Here's What That Means
Leaving a coin on the headstone lets loved ones of the deceased soldier's family know that someone has come to visit the grave. Each type of coin holds a different meaning.
- Penny - you visited the grave
- Nickle - you went to basic training together
- Dime - you served together
- Quarter - you were there when they died