ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.Let us join together in a collection of thoughts, poems, prayer and more in honor of all our fallen on this Memorial Day.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America.
Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated 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, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.” The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
Lest we forget...
The phrase "Lest we forget" is commonly used in war remembrance services and commemorative occasions, and its first usage can be traced to Rudyard Kipling's poem "Recessional" composed for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
The direct Biblical source for Kipling's poem can be found in Deuteronomy 4:7-9:
For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?Both scripture and poem consist of the same theme: If a nation forgets the true source of its success, which is the Lord God of Hosts and His ancient sacrifice of Christ, its military and material possessions will be insufficient in times of war.
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
In Flanders Fields...The now famous poem “In Flanders Fields” was written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD, following the Second Battle of Ypres during World War I. The death of McCrae's friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer, who was killed in the battle, was the inspiration for this poem, which was written on May 3, 1915, the day after conducting his own friend's funeral.
Remembrance poppies...
Inspired by McCrae's poem, Moina Michael replied with her own in the same year:
"We cherish too, the Poppy redMs. Michael then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. Being the first to wear one, she sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Shortly before Memorial Day 1922, the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their “Buddy” Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans.
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies."
National Moment of Remembrance...
The “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec 2000, asking every American at 3pm local time, “to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps'.”
Sources: BCP, USMemorialDay, Wikipedia
