Memorial Day History, How Brookline Remembers: 5 Things To Know

BROOKLINE, MA — Memorial Day is a holiday people throughout Brookline and across America look forward to every year as the start of summer.

It also gives people a chance to look back, as the final Monday in May is a day to remember all American lives lost during military service.

Here are five things to know about the history of Memorial Day:

1. It Was Originally Called Decoration Day: Remembering veterans who died while in military service in late May dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. Logan called it “Decoration Day,” which it was known as for several years. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, History.com reported, and it only became a federal holiday in 1971.

1. Local Services: Memorial Day traditions in Brookline date back decades.

Each year several groups participate in Brookline: the American Legion Post 11, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Daughters of the American Revolution and Honor Guard and Firing squad from the Brookline police and fire departments participate. Ceremonies start at 9 a.m. at the Walnut Hills Cemetery and then continue over at the Walnut Street Cemetery lad by the Daughters of the American Revolution. At 11 a.m. the Town Hall ceremony begins.

In years past there has been bus transportation provided to both cemeteries, but because of the pandemic that won't happen again this year. In years past there has been a procession into the main ceremony and a gathering after the ceremonies, that, too has been suspended this year out of an abundance of caution. At the Grand Army of the Republic Monument, there is an invocation and a laying of the wreath. At the Walnut Hills Cemetery there is a laying of red, white and blue baskets and honor guard followed by taps, and at the Brookline Revolutionary Cemetery there is a welcome, an invocation and a placing of the wreath, a speaker and a benediction followed by taps. The final program at the World War Monument involves the pledge of allegiance, the national anthem a moment of silence, a proclamation and a reading of the Gettysburg Address and of General Logan's orders in addition to speakers and music. It ends with taps and recognizing servicemen for their service to the veteran community. See the 2021 program.

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1. Birthplace Of Memorial Day: The Memorial Day holiday tradition in Waterloo, New York, dates back even longer than Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Waterloo first celebrated on May 5, 1866, as local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags, according to History.com.

"The people of Waterloo are justly proud of this outstanding event in the history of their community," then-New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller said in 1966, when the federal government recognized the upstate village about midway between Rochester and Syracuse as the “birthplace of Memorial Day.”

Although its event is canceled for the second consecutive year due to the coronavirus, Waterloo holds a yearly two-day celebration — complete with a car show, Civil War memorial and 5K races — as a nod to the village’s rich connection to the holiday’s history.

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1. A Civil War Holiday At First: Until World War I, Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as noted above, was only meant to honor those who died while fighting for the union in the Civil War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the holiday took on a new role to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

1. National Moment Of Remembrance: Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. The midday time was chosen “because it is the time when many Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday,” according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.