Memorial Day

Members of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans group of Union soldiers, decided in 1868 that there needed to be a Decoration Day for the entire nation. 

Prior to '68, smaller communities had celebrated Decoration Day by decorating the graves of soldiers who died during the Civil War. A number of towns in both the North and the South claim the first Decoration Day. 

The first large celebration of Decoration Day was May 30, 1868 in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. Waterloo, NY was declared by President Lyndon Johnson as the birthplace of the celebration. 

Up until 1971, Decoration Day was just a day for soldiers who had died in the Civil War. But the large number of casualties in World War I and II made it necessary to honor soldiers of all American wars. In 1971, Congress declared the last Monday in May as the official holiday known today as Memorial Day, but sometimes still referred to as Decoration Day.