Memorial Day can be traced back to after the Civil War. People wanted to remember the veterans who were killed in battle. They placed flowers on the graves of Arlington National Cemetery. It soon spread across the nation. Join me as I discuss the history of Memorial Day.References

History of Memorial Day | National Memorial Day Concert | PBS. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2026, from National Memorial Day Concert - PBS website: https://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/memorial-day/history/

History.com Editors. (2009, October 27). Memorial Day 2024: Facts, Meaning & Traditions | HISTORY. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from HISTORY website: https://www.history.com/articles/memorial-day-history

John McCrae. (2019). In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from Poetry Foundation website: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields

Longfellow, H. (2026). Longfellow: Decoration Day, In the Harbor. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW website: https://www.hwlongfellow.org/poems_poem.php?pid=260

McCue, K. (2024, May 9). What is Memorial Day? Facts, Meaning, and History. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from WWP News & Media: Veteran Group Outings, Charity Events, Helping Vets website: https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/What-is-Memorial-Day-Facts-Meaning-and-History

National Cemetery Administration. (2026). Memorial Day history. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from Va.gov website: https://www.cem.va.gov/history/Memorial-Day-history.asp#PopularLiterature

National Museum of the United States Army. (n.d.). The Origins of Memorial Day. Retrieved May 22, 2026, from www.thenmusa.org website: https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/origins-of-memorial-day/

World War I poems: “In Flanders Fields” and “The Answer,” 1918 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2026, from www.gilderlehrman.org website: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/world-war-i-poems-flanders-fields-and-answer-1918