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Ancestry® Announces Virtual Memorial Day
Honoring the 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II
- Monday, May 25, 2020
- 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. PDT
In a 45-minute live production, the parade will memorialize the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and bring to life stories of strength and hope through exclusive veteran interviews and special tributes.
Hosted by Emmy award-winning television personality Kathie Lee Gifford, the parade will also feature musical performances by two-time GRAMMY award-winning singer-songwriter Tori Kelly + more, and an opportunity to share your story and meet others in the live community chat.
You're also invited to honor your veteran from home online by posting about them and tagging Ancestry. Visit the event page for more info.
https://www.facebook.com/events/522981208338757/
@All Temple & Family History Consultants @Engaging Youth in Family History @Family & Community—Connect & Inspire! @United States Genealogy Research
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First, in no way is this intended to be a negative about posting this event here in the group - far from it. I appreciate the reminder for people that it's not the "start of summer," or a day for the beach, etc. It's a very personal thing to me, but one I believe is important for people to keep separated in their minds (and as time goes on, I've observed the differences to have blurred almost to the point of merging). Memorial Day has nothing to do with living veterans. There is a separate, special day for honoring those who served and lived, called (amazingly! 😄 ) Veterans Day on 11 November each year. That day also commemorates the end of WWI on 11 November 1918 (though for some units such as my grandfather's, it went on far longer - they were not returned from the conflict in Siberia until late 1919, nearly one year later). Veterans Day honors those that served and returned alive, except those dishonorably discharged. But Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day because of the custom of decorating the graves of those killed while still in service) is entirely about honoring and memorializing those who paid the ultimate price and never returned alive. I hope that all will keep that in mind during the activities you might have planned for that day - including the broadcast.
I'm a bit surprised that Ancestry didn't check their facts better before sub-titling the event as, "Honoring the 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II" and calling it a "Parade of Heroes." Those honored on Memorial Day never lived to participate in parades. It started as Decoration Day and dates all the way back to between 1866 and 1868 as a day to honor those that died in the American Civil War. It continued as Decoration day until officially declared to be one of the now-famous Monday holidays in 1971, when the increasingly common name of "Memorial Day" was made official. It has nothing to do with the end of WWII.
As we progress into the future, we need to take care not to blur our histories, which can cause them to lose very special meanings. I like the quote at the end of the Veteran's Administration page pertaining to Memorial Day:
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”
Thanks for posting that, Amber. More than 1.1 million Americans have died in our wars since the nation's founding, and they deserve to be remembered very specially.
-- Chris
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