ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Here are 10 fast facts about Memorial Day, a holiday honoring
American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country:
• Even though numerous communities had been independently celebrating Memorial
Day for years,the
federal government declared Waterloo, N.Y. the
official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo first celebrated the holiday on
May 5, 1866.
• Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30 for decades, but in 1971, Congress
established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May and a federal holiday.
• Memorial Day originally honored military
personnel who died in the Civil War (1861-1865).
• Roughly 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War — making it the deadliest war
in American history. About
644,000 Americans have died in all other conflicts combined.
• President
Bill Clinton signed the
National Moment of Remembrance Act on Dec. 28, 2000, designating 3 p.m. local
time on Memorial Day as a National
Moment of Remembrance.
• It wasn't always Memorial Day — it
used to be known as Decoration Day.
• Red poppies are known as a symbol of remembrance, and it's
a tradition to wear them to honor those who died in war.
• Even though Memorial Day began as a holiday honoring Union soldiers, some
states still have Confederate observances. Mississippi celebrates
Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth
Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it on
May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration
Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day on Jan. 19 and Virginia calls the
last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day.
• The crowd that attended the
first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was
about the same size as those that attend today's observance: about 5,000 people
• Here are the
number of casualties in each U.S. war:
Civil War: Approximately
620,000 Americans died. The Union lost almost 365,000 troops and the Confederacy
about 260,000. More than half of these deaths were caused by disease.
World War I: 116,516
Americans died, more than half from disease.
World War II: 405,399
Americans died.
Korean War: 36,574
Americans died.
Operation New Dawn: 66
U.S. service members died.
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