OBSERVING MEMORIAL DAY: Honoring Our Fallen Heroes

This Memorial Day, we at OCLI would like to take this time to reflect and remember all the brave men and women of the United States who have given their lives while defending our freedom and country. We extend our deepest gratitude for their courage and dedication to preserving peace.

 

Memorial Day Facts:

• Memorial Day is celebrated every year on the last Monday of May.

• Memorial Day was first observed to honor Union soldiers who had perished during the American Civil War. It has since been expanded to observe casualties of all American fought wars and actions.

• Memorial Day was first declared a national holiday in 1971.

• In November 1918, while working at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries Headquarters, Monina Michael wrote the poem We Shall Keep The Faith and vowed always to wear a red poppy as a sign of remembrance. Today, poppy flowers are used to represent Memorial Day. They are worn to remember those who died for our country.

    

    We Shall Keep The Faith

  “We cherish too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
    It seems to signal to the skies
 That blood of heroes never dies."

 

• One tradition on Memorial Day is to fly the American flag at half staff from dawn until noon.

• A national moment of remembrance is observed at 3:00pm on Memorial Day.

• Memorial Day is often referred to as the unofficial start of summer.

 

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