“The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude. ”

— Jeff Miller

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering and honoring people who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.^[1] The holiday is observed on the last Monday of May. Memorial Day was observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970.^[2]

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day, particularly to honor those who died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

On May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina, recently freed African-Americans held a parade of 10,000 people to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers, whose remains they had reburied from a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. Historian David W. Blight cites contemporary news reports of this incident in the Charleston Daily Courier and the New-York Tribune.