Memorial Day

MEMORIAL DAY Memorial Day as an occasion of remembrance, originally termed Decoration Day, was first officially observed on May 30, 1869. The observance followed a proclamation by John A. Logan, a former major general of the Union army and national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), on May 5 of that year. In his General Order 11, Logan proposed that a day be set aside for “the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” The largest ceremony that year took place at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C. General Ulysses S.