MEMORIAL DAY HONORS MEN AND WOMEN WHO DIED WHILE SERVING IN THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. Originally known as Decoration Day, it began in the years following the Civil War, which claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers by decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.
During World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the Memorial Day holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars. For decades, Memorial Day was observed on May 30, but in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials in remembrance of loved ones. On a less somber note, many people throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it unofficially marks the beginning of summer.
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2018 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
Classmates please welcome our newest crusader to register to our class of 1966 web site:
Sharon Bailey Ozimek
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WELCOME TO THE CLASS OF 66 WEBSITE
You can help make this site better by joining and creating your classmate profile. Your participation is ---and always will be ---free. Click now on the CLASSMATE PROFILES link on the left. Please find your name and create your own password to log on and you will be indentified as a "located" classmate. You can include as much or as little information on your profile as you want. You have control over what information can be seen, or not seen, by other classmates, the site administrators, or the general public. After you register, of course, you'll want to check out everyone else's profile and maybe email an old friend you had lost contact with. Stop by as often as you like, check out all the links on the left, especially our CURRENT EVENTS, PHOTO ALBUMS, CLASS OF 66 GALLERY AND CLASSMATE & FAMILY. Please bookmark this site, and email the link to all of the classmates you have contact with. COME JOIN THE FUN!
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