General Order No. 11

People are already heading out of town for a long weekend, the beach, the lake, the casino, and all sorts of other places.  For most, Monday is just a holiday, but there is significantly more to this holiday.  This particular Monday, originally called Decoration Day, is Memorial Day.  It all began on May 5, 1868 when General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, made the official proclamation of Memorial Day with General Order No. 11.  May 30, 1868 was the first officially Memorial Day where flowers were placed at the graves of each soldier, both Union and Confederate, at Arlington National Cemetery.  In 1971, Congress, via the National Holiday Act, officially named the last Monday of the May as a Federal Holiday.

Memorial Day is really about those men and women that gave their lives so we could go to the beach, the lake, the casino, and all sorts of other places.  As you are enjoying your day off, I ask that you take a moment to reflect on the members, those that gave their lives and those currently defending our freedom, of our military and their families that allow us to have the life that we do here in the United States of America.  Say a little prayer and drop a little thank you out there to the universe for what they do.