A Time to Remember

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan issued General Order No. 11 establishing May 30th as a day of honoring the dead. There are a variety of stories about how this originally developed but it was originally known as Decoration Day to commemorate the dead from the Civil War. Over the years, the last Monday of May has become the standard day to recognize this holiday and to remember all U.S. men and women killed or missing in action in all wars.

General Logan’s order required all men throughout his organization to spend some portion of the day policing the gravesites and decorating them and observing such ceremonies as their duties allowed and it was his hope that the general population would follow their lead.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

and then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniformSo young,

so tall, so proud,

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like himHad fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

when everything was stillI listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers,

sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington..

No freedom isn't free.

~LCDR Kelly Strong, USCG~