Marines in Southgate remind people what Memorial Day is all about

SOUTHGATE, Mich. – Local Marines spent Saturday at the Walmart in Southgate handing out flags and reminding people what Memorial Day is all about.

With all the barbecues, vacations and retail sales celebrating Memorial Day, it can be easy to forget the holiday's real purpose -- honoring American service members who died in combat.

Memorial Day's roots go back to 1866, when residents of Waterloo, New York, formally recognized those who died during the Civil War. Businesses closed. Residents decorated soldiers' graves.

Two years later, Gen. John Alexander Logan officially proclaimed May 30, 1868, as Memorial Day in honor of fallen Union soldiers.

For years, Southern states had a different Memorial Day to recognize the Confederate dead.
In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May.


About the Author:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.