Nowadays, Memorial Day is about three-day sales, carefree cookouts and festive parades. But when it was first observed after the Civil War, it was a solemn affair.
Consider these words spoken by President James Garfield at National Arlington Cemetery on May 30, 1868:
“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country, they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”
Learn more about the origin of Memorial Day at pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/memorial-day/history/
