Not one to give up, Guerin convinced the US-based Veterans of Foreign Affairs (VFW) to take up the cause. Unfortunately, the alliance lasted only a year.
In 1921, Guerin joined forces with the Franco-American Children's League and the poppy fundraising endeavor went national in both, France and America. Madam Guerin, a French woman visiting the US loved the idea so much that she adopted it in her home country to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. The tradition of wearing red poppies on this day began in 1915 when American professor Moina Michael sold a few to her friends and co-workers to raise money for service persons in need. Though the name "Memorial Day" began to surface as early as 1882, it did not become popular until after World War II and was not declared official by Federal law, until 1967. It was only after World War I when the holiday was extended to honor all dead military personnel that Decoration Day began to be celebrated nationally. The Southern States, however, declined to join and instead, selected a different day to honor their Civil War heroes.
Photo Credit: īy 1890, Decoration Day had become a fixture on the calendar in all Northern States. Logan and 5,000 other participants celebrated the occasion by placing flowers on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He believed that a day to commemorate the country’s fallen heroes would help unite citizens still recovering from the American Civil War waged between the Northern and Southern States from 1861-1865. The holiday was first observed as “Decoration Day” on May 30, 1868, by General Logan, the National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Though the two often get mixed up, Memorial Day is different from Veterans Day, which is celebrated to honor all living veterans for their sacrifices and contributions. What gets overlooked in all this excitement is the real purpose of the holiday, which is to honor and remember the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who sacrificed their lives to protect and defend our right to freedom. For adults, the holiday is a reminder to firm up vacation plans and host barbecue parties. To students, it signifies the end of the school year and the start of a long lazy summer break. The Federal holiday that is observed annually on the last Monday of the month is highly anticipated by all, for various reasons. On Monday, May 30, Americans will celebrate Memorial Day.
Photo Credit: Vjeran Pavic CC via Flicker
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