Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor those who have lost their lives in war defending our freedom. It didn’t start that way though. It started to honor those who died during the Civil War and wasn’t expanded to horror all who have died in all wars until after World War l.

According to history.com on May 5, 1868 Major General John Logan declared May 30 as Decoration Day, a day to lay flowers on the grave of those who died during the Civil War. In 1971 Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress and was placed on the last Monday in May.

In December of 2000 Congress passed and the President signed the ‘The National Moment of Remembrance Act’. This encourages Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time for one minute of silence to remember and horror those who have died in service to the nation.

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