This column was originally published in the Hamilton County Herald on May 9, 2014.
“Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1. Memorial Day was founded to honor military personnel who died in: the Revolutionary War; the Civil War; the Spanish-American War; World War I; World War II.
2. Which community in 1966 was proclaimed by the U.S. government as the birthplace of Memorial Day? Springfield, Penn.; Gettysburg, Penn.; Arlington, Va.; Waterloo, N.Y.; Bunker Hill, Mass.
3. On what date was Memorial Day first observed? May 30, 1856; May 5, 1866; May 25, 1889; May 29, 1901.
4. Memorial Day originated with another name. What was it? Honor Day; Old Soldiers’ Day; Decoration Day; Remembrance Day; Bravery Day.
5. Since the end of World War I, Memorial Day is also called which of the following? Poppy Day; War Heroes’ Day; Armed Forces Day; Military Day; Soldiers’ Day.
6. How is Memorial Day is different in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, and Tennessee from other states? These states celebrate Memorial Day on Jefferson Davis’ birthday; Memorial Day in these states excludes the Union dead in the Civil War; these states choose to honor Confederate dead in the Civil War on a separate day; in these states, the Confederate flag is flown alongside the American flag.
7. Why is General John Alexander Logan important to the celebration of Memorial Day? He’s the first officially documented casualty in a war; he called for more official government recognition of the holiday; he was the first to place a wreath at the Grave of the Unknowns; he’s responsible for accumulating and maintaining statistics of the U.S. war dead; he ordered that the holiday be observed by decorating the graves of the war dead.
8. According to the Department of Defense, how many U.S. service men and women have died in battle in all wars in which the U.S. has been involved? 186,203; 575,377; 923,846; About 1.4 million; They don’t even estimate.
9. True or false? On Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
10. What is the nationally recognized flower of Memorial Day? Red carnation; white Rose; Yellow rose; Red poppy.
ANSWERS:
1. The Civil War
2. Waterloo, N.Y.
3. May 5, 1866
4. Decoration Day
5. Poppy Day
6. These states choose to honor Confederate dead in the Civil War on a separate day.
7. He ordered that the holiday be observed by decorating the graves of the war dead.
8. 575,377
9. True
10. Red poppies. These little red flowers were first worn back in 1915 to honor fallen soldiers.
This column was originally published in the Hamilton County Herald on May 9, 2014.
“Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.”
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1. Memorial Day was founded to honor military personnel who died in: the Revolutionary War; the Civil War; the Spanish-American War; World War I; World War II.
2. Which community in 1966 was proclaimed by the U.S. government as the birthplace of Memorial Day? Springfield, Penn.; Gettysburg, Penn.; Arlington, Va.; Waterloo, N.Y.; Bunker Hill, Mass.
3. On what date was Memorial Day first observed? May 30, 1856; May 5, 1866; May 25, 1889; May 29, 1901.
4. Memorial Day originated with another name. What was it? Honor Day; Old Soldiers’ Day; Decoration Day; Remembrance Day; Bravery Day.
5. Since the end of World War I, Memorial Day is also called which of the following? Poppy Day; War Heroes’ Day; Armed Forces Day; Military Day; Soldiers’ Day.
6. How is Memorial Day is different in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, and Tennessee from other states? These states celebrate Memorial Day on Jefferson Davis’ birthday; Memorial Day in these states excludes the Union dead in the Civil War; these states choose to honor Confederate dead in the Civil War on a separate day; in these states, the Confederate flag is flown alongside the American flag.
7. Why is General John Alexander Logan important to the celebration of Memorial Day? He’s the first officially documented casualty in a war; he called for more official government recognition of the holiday; he was the first to place a wreath at the Grave of the Unknowns; he’s responsible for accumulating and maintaining statistics of the U.S. war dead; he ordered that the holiday be observed by decorating the graves of the war dead.
8. According to the Department of Defense, how many U.S. service men and women have died in battle in all wars in which the U.S. has been involved? 186,203; 575,377; 923,846; About 1.4 million; They don’t even estimate.
9. True or false? On Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
10. What is the nationally recognized flower of Memorial Day? Red carnation; white Rose; Yellow rose; Red poppy.
ANSWERS:
1. The Civil War
2. Waterloo, N.Y.
3. May 5, 1866
4. Decoration Day
5. Poppy Day
6. These states choose to honor Confederate dead in the Civil War on a separate day.
7. He ordered that the holiday be observed by decorating the graves of the war dead.
8. 575,377
9. True
10. Red poppies. These little red flowers were first worn back in 1915 to honor fallen soldiers.