What is Memorial Day?
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States reserved as a day of remembrance for those American Service Members who gave the ultimate sacrifice and died in service to our country.
This solemn observance occurs every year on the last Monday of May. However, in the past, Americans previously called the occasion “Decoration Day” and observed it on 30 May from 1868 to 1971.
Memorial Day Customs
Lots of Memorial Day customs exist. Here are quite a few of the ways that people can respectfully honor The True Meaning of Memorial Day in America.
TMoMD Goals
Unfortunately, through the years, many Americans lost sight of The True Meaning of Memorial Day.
We hope to
- Educate the public
- Raise awareness of the importance of this observance
- Ensure proper honor is maintained or restored for our fallen service members
What are some of the things people get wrong or confused about Memorial Day?
Memorial Day is different than Veterans Day, and Armed Forces Day
- Armed Forces Day honors veterans who are currently serving
- Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in combat
- Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans
- Independence Day is observed on 4 July to celebrate the Declaration of Independence by the United States from the Kingdom of Great Britain (now the United Kingdom) in 1776
“Happy Memorial Day” is rather insensitive
For those who have lost a loved one to war, Memorial Day can be difficult and certainly falls short of “happy.” Americans may still have fun and throw parties, but instead of saying, “Happy Memorial Day,” a better option is to wish someone a meaningful or reverent Memorial Day. This small distinction helps pay tribute to the heroes we have lost to war while reminding people that the weekend has a specific purpose.
Please Stop Thanking Living Veterans — We are Still Alive
Memorial Day is the ONE day of the year, set aside to remember our FALLEN heroes.
PLEASE, avoid THANKING living vets on Memorial Day. We know folks mean well, and we do our best to appreciate the thought, but observing the day in the manner intended would be even more thoughtful.
Using Memorial Day as an Excuse to Have a Corporate Sale is Inappropriate
Tying a sale to Memorial Day is always disrespectful. We hope Americans reconsider supporting businesses who disrespect our fallen and their families by hosting “Memorial Day Sales.” If someone sees a company who engages in this disrespectful activity, please document the offense, and share this with us, or help the business to understand how wrong this behavior is, and why the misappropriation of Memorial Day is off-putting.
Why are Sales Wrong on Memorial Day?
Corporate America has historically played a large part in replacing reverence with shopping, partying, fireworks, and all sorts of ideas and activities that are sharply at odds with the True Meaning of Memorial Day. Conscientious businesses should immediately curtail disrespectful Memorial Day practices and replace their discourteous commercialization with messages and actions which properly respect our fallen American heroes.
How Can We Help Businesses Understand the Importance of Respecting Memorial Day?
Patriots can help us pass the word and spread awareness by liking the True Meaning of Memorial Day Facebook Page and sharing our content with other patriots 🙂
Please join us in remembering what Memorial Day is about and help us to re-educate well-meaning, but thoughtless, Americans and American Corporations on the importance of this precious remembrance. Our fallen heroes and their families deserve so much more, and that is why we encourage folks to take a moment to get Memorial Day right.
What Can People Do to Honor Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day?
- Educate one’s self and others, especially children
- Teach young people what Memorial Day is about
- Understand why treating the day with reverence is important
- Share with others the reasons why the day must be preserved for the intended purpose — remembering fallen heroes
- Look for resources such as this site and others
- Help others to learn by directing them to Social media sites like The True Meaning of Memorial Day
- Liking, tagging, commenting, and sharing content from the TMoMD page helps focus the educational effort as well
- Most importantly, remember our heroes and their families, especially on Memorial Day
About TMoMD
We started our TMOMD Facebook page on 24 May 2013 after noticing how many people failed to observe Memorial Day properly.
Prior to launching this effort, as early as 2007, our administrators had begun speaking out individually about the problems associated with Memorial Day confusion.
This site is run entirely off volunteer efforts, and our staff is comprised entirely of Veterans, Gold Star Family Members, and Military Families. We do our best to answer questions and provide resources. We appreciate the interest of people who are devoted to properly honoring our fallen heroes on Memorial Day!
#TMOMD #LestWeForget #TrueMeaningOfMemorialDay #MemorialDay
