The Last Day Monday In May

Memorial Day

On a cold day in March 1944, the Fergerson Family of Leeds, Alabama saw a car pull up in front of their home. Mr. Fergerson was working in the field and his wife was at the kitchen sink. As her daughter Doris Jean Fergerson would later state, “I saw mama begin to shake.” It was a representative from the U.S. Navy. The Submarine the USS Scorpion had been lost in the East China Sea on or about February 1, 1944. There were no survivors. The Fergerson’s son, Nearest Ferguson (Steward, Third Class), was one of the causalities. This began the Fergerson yearly Memorial Day Remembrance, my family’s annual Remembrance.

Steward, 3rd Class-Nearest Fergerson

As we remember this last Monday in May, we again are called to recognize the sacrifices of those who gave all, as well as the tremendous and monumental ache borne by so many families, friends and communities that are left behind. So begins another “last Monday in May”— Memorial Day.

Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day from 1868-1970) is a day of observance remembering those who lost their lives while in service to the United States Armed Services. Memorial Day was born out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. On the 5th of May in 1868, General John Logan, who was the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed it in General Order No. 11, and for more than a century Memorial Day was observed on May 30. In 1968 the U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Act, which officially recognized Memorial Day as a federal holiday. It also changed observance to the last Monday in May, going into effect in 1971.

As we reflect this Memorial Day, it is important to distinguish the last Monday in May from two other important holidays—Armed Forces Day and Veterans Day, which are celebrated to honor of those who served and the respective branches they served in. With Memorial Day, the ultimate sacrifice was made. Memorial Day honors the fact that lives have been and unfortunately will forever be altered, and in the most dramatic of ways. So, as we acknowledge this last Monday in May, let us not forget, it is not a celebration, it is the Remembrance; It is not about the ‘Pomp and Circumstance,” it is about the Remembrance.

How to Remember on Memorial Day:

• Memorial Day poppies: People wear poppies to honor America’s war dead in a Memorial Day tradition that dates to the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by John McCrae.

• National Moment of Remembrance: “The National Moment of Remembrance Act”, The law encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

• Hang your flag at half-staff: Federal guidelines say the flag should be displayed at half-staff only until noon, then go up to full staff until sundown. Half-Staffing (va.gov)

• Playing “Taps:” During the Civil War, a U.S. general thought the bugle call signaling bedtime could use a more melodious tune, so he wrote the notes for “Taps” in 1862. Now, “Taps” is a traditional part of Memorial Day celebrations.

• Visit a local veterans cemetery:  Bring flowers and lay them by a grave that doesn’t have any.

Some Gave All - The Ultimate Sacrifice.

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