- Since the late 1950′s, on the Thursday just before the Memorial day, around 1200 soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing. In 1951, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of St. Louis began placing flags on the 150,000 graves at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as an annual Good Turn, and that tradition continues to this day.
- In the year 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance Resolution passed. At 3pm on Memorial Day all Americans are asked to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect by pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence.
- On Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
- Red Poppies are recognized as the Memorial Day flower.
- Memorial Day was first called “Decoration Day” because of the practice of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers.
- New York was the 1st state to officially recognize Memorial Day.
- Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday in 1971.
Enjoy your macaroni!
Melissa Alcorn
MelissaA@MacaroniKid.com
Find us on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!
P.S. Congratulations to Beni K.! You are the winner of the 4 season passes to the Bloomington Pools! Look for an email from me shortly!
