Land of the Free Because of the Brave

Happy Memorial Day Y'all!

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. 

Did you know?

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. Go New York! By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May, though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 in Louisiana and Tennessee. Very interesting..I hadn't known all of that!

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps." This is awesome...I'll definitely be taking my moment of silence to pray for all those who have fallen for our freedom!

My Military Heroes:

With a Father and brother in the Navy, I am all about supporting our military and giving them recognition for the hard jobs they do. My Dad always tries to remind us what the day is really about...not just a 3 day weekend! It's about remembering those who have died fighting for our country.
 A few months ago, my Dad was promoted to the next rank of the Navy as a one star Admiral, Go Dad! He has worked closely with Senator John McCain,which you can read about here: Congressional Record and also did lots of work in Africa helping the African Navy fight piracy. Who knew pirates were still out there right? His job wasn't quite as glamorous as Jack Sparrow's sadly. 

In addition to my Dad, my brother will be a senior at the United States Naval Academy and plans to be a pilot when he graduates...Dad is a Surface Warfare Officer, which means he works on ships, so he is always trying to convince my brother to change his mind. Here are a few pictures of my favorite men in their uniforms...if you know anyone in the military give them some extra love on this special day! 

Johnny in his flight suit

Here we are at the Naval Academy!

Dad with the African Navy

XoXo,
Southern Saving Grace