If you were parading in the streets on May 30th, 1968, you would probably be in a Memorial Day parade. But if you were doing the same thing just 30 years before, you might not have even heard of Memorial Day. No, you would be parading for Decoration Day.
Decoration Day, meant to celebrate the heroes of the Civil War, was the predecessor of Memorial Day. It was the dominant term for the May 30th remembrance celebrations until after World War II, when Memorial Day came into common usage. That’s interesting, but who cares? Aren’t the two terms synonymous anyway?
Not to my thinking. ”Decoration Day” implies honor and acclaim for soldiers, while “Memorial Day” implies commemoration of their deaths. One celebrates the glory of war, and one recognizes its tragedy. So what changed?
Photo by Army.mil
Well, World War II. The brutality of that conflict (especially Hiroshima and Nagasaki) forced the world to look past the badges of honor and bravery and see the bloodshed. No longer could we think exclusively of the glory of war heroes- we had to think of the deaths that brought them there.
But that does not mean the US does not admire great fighters. In the past two weeks, I’ve seen at least thirty “Support Our Troops” bumper stickers- a sure sign that the country has not become overly jaded by the horrors of the battlefield. But we’ve also come a long way from the rock star-esque status of George Custer in the Indian campaigns. It’s a significant change in national consciousness that’s embodied in a simple word swap.
