More than 1 million Americans have given their lives in service to this county and their sacrifice will be honored May 28 as this nation observes Memorial Day.
Origins of the holiday date back to the Civil War era when it was called Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868 Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed that Memorial day would be observed May 30 when flowers would be placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. New York was the first state to recognize the holiday in 1873. While the holiday originally honored those who died in the Civil War, shortly after World War I the holiday changed to honoring all Americans who died in any war. In May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson officially declared Waterloo, N.Y. as the birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo, which had first celebrated the holiday on May 5, 1866, was chosen because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May.
In many communities, including our own, family and friends have mourned those lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom in solemn ceremonies just like those Americans have observed for generations. More than 1 million Americans have given their lives in service to their country. Nearly 5,000 died in the American Revolution; 2,000 in the War of 1812; 13,000 in the Mexican War; 620,000 in the Civil War; 5,500 in the Spanish-American War; 112,000 in World War I; 405,000 in World War II; 54,000 in the Korean War; 109,000 in the Vietnam War and 148 Americans were killed in the Persian Gulf War. And more than 3,400 Americans have lost their lives in the war on terror in Afghanistan and in Operation Iraqi Freedom and more will, regrettably, die as those conflicts continue.
On Memorial Day, take time to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we all enjoy today.
In Marysville, American Legion Post 178 will conduct a Memorial Day ceremony at the Marysville Cemetery, 8801 State Avenue, beginning at 11 a.m., on May 28. That ceremony will be followed immediately by an open house luncheon at American Legion Post 178, 115 Cedar Avenue. Both events are open to the public.
In Arlington, Memorial Day activities will begin at 6 a.m. when members of American Legion Post 76 and Veterans of Foreign Wars, joined by volunteers from the community, hang flags along Memorial Way. A street parade will begin at 10 a.m. and travel to the Arlington Cemetery, 20310 67th Ave NE, where an 11 a.m. ceremony is planned.
In Darrington, a 1 p.m. ceremony is planned at the Darrington Cemetery, on Highway 530.

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