On This Day: Grand Army issues Memorial Day protest

The Grand Army post of Westchester County in New York, On This Day in 1885, issued a protest against certain Memorial Day activities. The post adopted a resolution stating: “We depreciate the use of Memorial Day for other than memorial purposes.”

The resolution also stated that the members of the post felt “the holding of entertainments, festivities and indulging in any kind of athletic sports are desecrations of the solemn holiday, against all of which, in the name of our dead comrades, we solemnly protest.”

On Memorial Day, we recognize, honor and remember the fallen heroes who died in service to our Nation. It is a day of remembrance of those passed.

Source:

Lancaster daily intelligencer. (Lancaster, Pa.), 25 May 1885. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress.

Presidential Proclamation - Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2015. White House, Office of the Press Secretary.

On This Day is a prompt I started this month to further explore historical events.

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