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Join Family Life for special coverage of

“Memorial Day in Pennsylvania and New York”

Our Noon Report on the national holiday includes stories from military veterans, how the armed services support gold star families, and first-person stories from a bugler who sounds “Taps” at military grave sites and from the National Cemetery in Bath, New York.

This special 30-minute Memorial Day Tribute is also available for listening and downloading from the News Podcasts page at FamilyLife.org.

Leading the conversations with local people from our listening area are Greg Gillispie and Abigail Hofland.

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“Memorial Day in New York and Pennsylvania”

Originally called Decoration Day, the occasion was first marked three years after the end of the Civil War. On May 5, 1868, John Logan, head of the major Union Army veterans association, issued a proclamation from his Washington, D.C., office inviting Americans to celebrate “Decoration Day” on May 30. He urged them to decorate Civil War graves with the “choicest flowers of springtime.” He spoke at the first official commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery that year.

Congress and Presidents ever since have made proclamations which urged remembrance and tributes of those who sacrificed themselves to serve the causes of their nation. Memorial Day is now observed on the last Monday of May.

This year, Family Life News has gathered stories from current soldiers and veterans from our listening area. Hear about “Taps”, volleys, Gold-Star Families, and memorable services at Bath National Cemetery. A pastor offers encouragement, whether you visit a cemetery to decorate the grave of a civilian, or as you memorialize a service person who has died, be that at war or in peacetime.