“For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” — James Abram Garfield (1831–81) speaking at Arlington National Cemetery for the first Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day. https://t.co/ly8N55Cem5 https://t.co/ckef2BTa4x (tw)

We remember them and honor their sacrifice on this Memorial Day. On May 30, 1868, a crowd of more than 5,000 gathered at Arlington National Cemetery for the first Decoration Day (now known as Memorial Day) exercises. Before strewing flowers upon the graves of the dead, the crowd listened to an address by James Abram Garfield (1831–81), then an Ohio congressman who had served as a Union major general during the Civil War. In this first of such annual addresses at Arlington National Cemetery and across the nation, Garfield set a standard by explaining what Decoration Day is all about and why it should be commemorated. https://www.nps.gov/articles/first-official-national-decoration-day.htm (fb)