Only one flag matters this Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend. It is one of my favorite holidays of the year, a special day at a special time of year. It originally was called Declaration Day; it is a day to remember those that have died in service to our country.

The history of Memorial Day, or Declaration Day, is a little fuzzy. In May of 1966 President Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the birthplace of Memorial Day. Now, Waterloo may not actually have been the first to celebrate Memorial Day, but it got the designation because each year in good ol' Waterloo it was a town-wide event. Businesses closed, people gathered together to honor the fallen, residents decorated graves with flags and flowers.

Bill Weber

Way to go, Waterloo!

But Memorial Day dates back much further than 1966, in fact, probably 100 years earlier. According to various sources (and believe me the sources definitely vary) the celebration we now know as Memorial Day officially was proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Yeah, I know, I don't remember that day from Mr. Fedak's class either. But with Gen. Logan leading the charge, pardon the pun, Memorial Day was observed for the first time on May 30, 1868, to remember those that gave their life in the Civil War. Soldiers from both the Union Army and the Confederate side were honored with flowers at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1873, New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday. It took almost 20 years before all the northern states recognized it. What took them so long?

The South wasn't quite that excited, either. From what I could find, most southern states did not really recognize Memorial Day until after World War I, that's when the holiday was changed to honor those Americans lost in any war, instead of just the Civil War.

Now it is readily celebrated on the last Monday in May, part of that three-day weekend law passed in 1971. But if you live in the south, a handful of states also recognize our heroes on selected other dates as well.

Like many "special" days, Memorial Day seems to pass much more quietly than, well, say when I was a kid. I remember hanging the American flag on the front of the house, right next to the garage, big parades with plenty of servicemen and high school bands.

I'm sure those things still go on, and thanks to the 500 cable channels, we can watch celebrations from Washington, D.C., to Washington State. I love that!

We'll see the flags at Arlington, and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I have been to Arlington and watched in person the changing of the guard at the Tomb. Both experiences really make you think. They make you sad. They also make you proud.

Now set your cell phone alarm for this, the National Moment of Remembrance is at 3 p.m., local time. A resolution passed in December 2000 invites Americans to voluntarily pause on their own for a moment of remembrance. So set the alarm for 2:59 p.m., just to be ready. (Continued)