Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in
our nation s service.
There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and
towns laying claim to being the birthplace of...
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Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in
our nation s service.
There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and
towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day.
There is also evidence that organized
women s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in
1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L.
Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of
the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University s Historic
American Sheet Music, 1850-1920).
While Waterloo N.
Y.
was officially declared the birthplace of
Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it s difficult to prove conclusively the origins
of the day.
It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned
or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860 s tapped i
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