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The many scenes of Memorial Day

Kaid Benfield

Posted May 28, 2012 at 1:34PM

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  San Francisco (by: Saket Vora, creative commons license)

  San Francisco

What does Memorial Day mean to us as Americans?  The opening of the summer season? The beach?  Finally, a three-day weekend?  A barbecue with friends?  A parade?  A family gathering or block party?  Deep discounts on shopping?  All of the above?

  Melrose, MA (by: Paul W. Locke, creative commons license)

  Melrose, MA

Or is Memorial Day about the remembrance of those who lost their lives in military service?

  North Dakota Veterans Cemetery (by: ND National Guard, creative commons license)

  North Dakota

  Rockaway Beach (by: Dan DeLuca, creative commons license)

  Rockaway Beach, NY

  Wilmington, DE (by: John M Cropper, creative commons license)

  Wilmington, DE

  San Francisco (by: Steve Rhodes, creative commons license)

  San Francisco

  Washington, DC (by: Ed Yourdon, creative commons license)

  Washington, DC

  block party, unknown location (by: Mike Lipscomb, creative commons license)

  block party, unknown location

  River Falls, WI (by: Andrew Iverson, creative commons license)

  River Falls, WI

  Ferndale, MI (by: Wigwam Jones, creative commons license)

  Ferndale, MI

  La Jolla, CA (c2012, FK Benfield)

  La Jolla, CA

  Washington, DC (by: Patrick Calder, creative commons license)

  Washington, DC

  San Francisco (by: David Yu, creative commons license)   San Francisco (by: David Yu, creative commons license)

  San Francisco

  Seattle (by: James Callan, creative commons license)

  Seattle

  Portland, ME (by: Corey Templeton, creative commons license)

  Portland, ME

  Washington, DC (by: Dale Ghent, creative commons license)

  Washington, DC

  unknown location (by: Mike Lipscomb, creative commons license)

  unknown location

  Massachusetts (by: Troy B Thompson, creative commons license)

  Massachusetts

  Indianapolis 500 (by: momentcaptured1, creative commons license)

  Indianapolis

  Washington, DC (by: Ed Yourdon, creative commons license)

  Washington, DC

  Pensacola, FL (by: BP America, creative commons license)

  Pensacola, FL

  River Falls, WI (by: Andrew Iverson, creative commons license)

  River Falls, WI

  California (by: Nate Baird, creative commons license)

  California

  Beatrice, NE (by: John Carrel, creative commons license)

  Beatrice, NE

  Coney Island, NY (by: Asterio Tecson, creative commons license)

  Coney Island, NY

  Washington, DC (by: slack13, creative commons license)

  Washington, DC

  American Cemetery, Brookwood, England (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jennifer L. Jaqua)

  American Cemetery, Brookwood, England

From USMemorialDay.org:

"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service . . . While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all."

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