Memorial Day

On May 5, 1866 the town of Waterloo, New York closed its businesses and the townspeople decorated the graves of Civil War soldiers with flowers and flags. It is believed to have been the birthplace of what has become known as Memorial Day. In 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization made up of Civil War veterans declared May 30th as the official day of observance of what was then called Decoration Day. After World War I the observance was expanded to include those who had died in all American wars. In 1971 Memorial Day became a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday in May.