Memorial Day
May 30
America remembers
Memorial Day honors Americans who died in war. This day is also known as
Decoration Day, because graves of the war dead are decorated with
flowers and flags.
No one is sure just how or when this day came about. But the first
national observance
of Memorial Day was May 30, 1868. That was when Major General John A.
Logan named May 30 as a day to decorate the graves of Northern soldiers
who died in the Civil War.
On Memorial Day, Americans decorate the graves of men and women who
served their country in war and peace.
■0MI
May 30 to help needy French and Belgian children.
As time went on, the sale of poppies helped needy veterans. Poppy Day
is now a day inPoppy Week. This week ends on the Saturday
Since then, Memorial Day has become a day to honor all Americans who
died in the Civil War and the wars that followed.
After World War I, Memorial Day also became Poppy Day. In France, red
poppies grew on battlefields. So, as a reminder, American veterans sold
artificial poppies on before Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is now observed on May 30 or on the last Monday in May.
