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Preferred term

Memorial Day  

Definition

  • In 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic's (GAR) national commander, John Logan, proclaimed May 30 of that year a day when all GAR posts throughout the country would pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. Logan's pro-nouncement established Memorial Day (initially known as Decoration Day) as a semiofficial day of remembrance throughout the North, but the practice of decorating Union and Confederate soldiers' graves with flowers and flags pre-dated his proclamation. [Source: Encyclopedia of War & American Society; Memorial Day]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/Memorial_Day

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