The observance of what we now call Memorial Day began in May 1868 following the Civil War, a conflict that claimed the lives of more than 750,000 Union and Confederate soldiers – the highest death toll of any war in this country’s history.
As the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union veterans’ organization, General John A. Logan issued General Order No. 11, which established Decoration Day.
Logan gave three reasons for the order, which should guide all of us in Nassau as we observe the day at home and at the many ceremonies held across the county.
The first was for the “strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country.”
Logan’s second reason was that we should guard the graves of those who died for their country “with sacred vigilance.”
His third was that we “Let no neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”
Logan’s third reason refers to why those who died made the ultimate sacrifice – freedom. This is relevant to us in 2025 as it was in 1868. The battle between democracy and tyranny is never-ending.
Sadly, the Civil War was not the last conflict in which the lives of Americans were lost. In fact, we have had many. However imperfectly expressed at times, the reason given for why we fought has always been freedom – ours and those of people around the world.
Franklin Roosevelt, who was president during World War II—this country’s second bloodiest conflict with 417,00 Americans dying—spoke frequently and passionately about democracy and freedom, which he viewed as intertwined.
According to Roosevelt, democracy was not just a political system but a living ideal that depended on economic security, social justice and active civic participation.
At his State of the Union Address on Jan. 6, 1941, before the United States entered the war, Roosevelt offered four freedoms he believed to be on the line as war raged around the world: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
During a campaign speech back in 1936, Roosevelt had emphasized that these freedoms are not guaranteed.
“A government can be no better than the men who shape its policies,” Roosevelt said. “Democracy is not a static thing. It is an everlasting march.”
Other presidents can and have debated Roosevelt’s definition of freedom, but few have disagreed with him describing the cause for which our soldiers gave their lives.
We would go back to the Revolutionary War at the nation’s founding to point to the Declaration of Independence and then the U.S. Constitution and what our Founding Fathers established – a democracy with three branches of government guided by the rule of law.
We should remember this as we observe Memorial Day and listen to the words of citizens and elected officials who speak at ceremonies recalling the brave soldiers who have given their lives during the past 250 years for these ideals.
They fulfill our nation’s duty to remember the heroes who have died for their country.
We, as citizens, can also fulfill our duties by ensuring our current leaders uphold the ideals for which the fallen made the ultimate sacrifice
