Memorial Day was first celebrated in 1868 and was then known as "Decoration Day." It was a day to honor the then recently fallen Civil War soldiers by decorating their graves.
It was originally observed on May 30, 1868 by proclamation of a General John A. Logan. At the very first Decoration Day celebration, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery and over 5,000 people helped decorate the graves of more than 20,000 confederate and union soldiers.
By the late 1800s, the day had come to be known as Memorial Day. Following World War I, the celebration expanded to memorialize those who had died in all of the Nation's wars.
In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May.
Today, Memorial Day is celebrated across the country to honor those who has served in our Nation's armed forces as well as all others who were near and dear to us.
What is ironic to me though the fact that 141 years after the 1st celebration and speech at Arlington National Cemetery, our new President Barack Hussein Obama, the nation's 1st black president delivered the speech today at the annual event. The irony to me comes from the fact that the Civil War was fought over the enslavement of blacks and that most of those buried there that fought in that war, died over the issue.
This is just a testimony of how far we have come as a Nation.