On Memorial Day, we honor and remember.
What Is Memorial Day? A Brief History and Why It’s Celebrated.
The holiday grew out of the Civil War, as Americans — Northern, Southern, Black and white — struggled to honor the staggering numbers of dead soldiers, at least 2 percent of the U.S. population at the time. Several places lay claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. One of the earliest accounts comes from Boalsburg, Pa., where, in October 1864, three women are said to have placed flowers and wreaths on the graves of men who had died serving the Union during the Civil War.
Not too far away from my favorite ice cream store there lives a green metal tank. This aged weapon of war sits in pride of place outside the military museum in Boalsburg, and my brother and I used to climb it as kids. We absorbed the solemnity of that place and, as children do, converted it to joy.
Today, may you do the same.
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