With school winding down this time of year, all of us are eagerly looking forward to the long Memorial Day weekend. However, there’s more to Memorial Day than barbecues and beach trips.

Memorial Day, being observed on the last Monday of May, this year being May 26, 2025, is an American national holiday to honor the men and women who have died during service in the United States armed forces. The memorial day began with the Civil War when people came together and continued to celebrate soldiers who were killed in action. They continued to decorate their graves with flowers and said prayers while conducting parades. They also engaged in picnics and other activities which gave birth to the name Decoration Day.

The first Decoration Day at the national level took place on May 30, 1868. It was proclaimed by John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a fraternal organization founded in 1866 for Union Civil War veterans. The GAR was a powerful and influential entity that provided aid, social events, and lobbying on political matters for veterans, especially fighting for pensions and benefits. The group remained active until its legal dissolution in 1956.

By 1873, the state of New York formally made Decoration Day a holiday, and by 1890, all Union states did the same. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which officially moved the date to the last Monday in May—giving government employees a three-day weekend. In 1971, the holiday’s name was finally officially changed to Memorial Day.

Memorial Day finally becomes a time not just to break free from the pressures of school or work, but a day that is properly honored to the heroes who gave up their lives just to serve our nation. While we find time to enjoy the four-day holiday, let’s take a moment of reflection for their loss and honor their memories.

How do you find ways to honor our fallen heroes?