Memorial Day.
Memorial Day.
REMEMBER.
REMEMBER.
All of us at Winchester Repeating Arms wish you the very best this Memorial Day weekend. We all know that Memorial Day has a deep and profound meaning for America and the entire world. It has nothing to do with a long weekend of recreation. It is a solemn time for all of us to remember the men and women who have given everything, even their lives, in the defense of America and the establishment of freedom across the world.
The Library of Congress explains the story behind the creation of Memorial Day. "In 1868, Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic issued General Order Number 11 designating May 30 as a memorial day “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
According to the Library of Congress, the first national celebration of the holiday, to honor those who died, took place at the Arlington National Cemetery, where both Confederate and Union soldiers were buried. The holiday was originally known as Decoration Day, At the turn of the last century, it was designated as Memorial Day. Today we observe Memorial Day on the last Monday of May.
The library of Congress article explains that "Today, the national observance of the holiday still takes place at Arlington National Cemetery with the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the decoration of each grave with a small American flag. Protocol for flying the American flag on Memorial Day includes raising it quickly to the top of the pole at sunrise, immediately lowering it to half-staff until noon, and displaying it at full staff from noon until sunset.".
If you were in Washington D.C. this weekend, you would see many friends and relatives of those who fought and died in the Vietnam war, make a pilgrimage to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where they pay their respects to another generation of fallen soldiers. Dropping into the "V" of the memorial, and passing over 50,000 names is a sobering experience.
Army Oath of Enlistment
I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
(Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).
