Memorial Day 2014….

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.

Some believe organized women’s groups from the south began decorating the graves of confederate soldiers before the end of the Civil War.  Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, though it’s difficult to prove the exact origin of the day. It is likely that it had many beginnings derived from peoples’ needs to honor and commemorate the war dead. Memorial Day is not about division it is about reconciliation, unity, honor and service.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic and was first observed on May 30, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South however,  refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I.   It is now observed in almost every State on the last Monday in May.

Memorial Day was declared a national holiday in 1971 by an act of Congress.  To ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law The National Moment of Remembrance Act.  The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.

American Receivable Corporation www.americanreceivable.com salutes those service men and women who so courageously and selflessly fought and died for the freedoms we hold so dear.