Dateline: Memorial Day

Memorial Day this year will be celebrated on Monday, May 26, 2025. It was originally known as Decoration Day and is a federal holiday for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer in the United States.

It is a day for visiting cemeteries and memorials to mourn the military personnel who died in the line of duty. Volunteers will place American flags on the graves of those military personnel in national cemeteries. Others such as family and friends will also come to lay flowers and grieve on the graves of those who died in the US military.

The first national observance of Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868. Then known as Decoration Day and observed on May 30, the holiday was proclaimed by Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic to honor the Union soldiers who had died in the American Civil War. This national observance followed many local observances which were inaugurated between the end of the Civil War and Logan's declaration. Many cities and people have claimed to be the first to observe it. However, the National Cemetery Administration, a division of the Department of Veterans Affairs, credits Mary Ann Williams with originating the "idea of strewing the graves of Civil War soldiers—Union and Confederate" with flowers.

Official recognition as a holiday spread among the states, beginning with New York in 1873. By 1890, every Union state had adopted it. The world wars turned it into a day of remembrance for all members of the U.S. military who fought and died in service. In 1968, Congress changed its observance to the last Monday in May, and in 1971 standardized its name as "Memorial Day".

Two other days celebrate those who have served or are serving in the U.S. military: Armed Forces Day, which is earlier in May, an unofficial U.S. holiday for honoring those currently serving in the armed forces, and Veterans Day on November 11, which honors all those who have served in the United States Armed Forces

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Dear Editor: I was encouraged to watch the Masked Singer. As I did, I struggled to identify the voice of the singer while they were masked. Once the singer was unmasked, I struggled to identify who they were. What exactly is the point of this show? -Confused

ED NOTE: I am similar to you in that some I recognize like Dick Van Dyke, Rudy Giuliani, Tommy Chong, Terry Bradshaw, Norm from Cheers, Paul Shaffer, and others. All the rest are famous now. I guess the point of the show is it is for young folks, and old farts like us!

Dear Editor: Last month your front page ran with the headline "Americans consume over 16 million jelly beans during Easter". I decided to do my own research, since President Trump has been pointing out Fake News Outlets, and found the number to actually be reported as "over 16 BILLION jelly beans, which is more than any other holiday". My question is, what other holidays have jelly beans? -Sweet Tooth

ED NOTE: Your haggling over a letter? What difference is there between a B and M, unless you are not close to a bathroom, NOTHING! As far as eating jelly beans, my former boss used to bring in a huge tub of Jelly Beans at the beginning of school, and at Christmastime, so EVERYDAY should be a jelly bean day!

Dear Editor: As a child, we would dye Easter Eggs and my mother would then wipe the eggs with Crisco and leave them to sit out on the counter in a basket for over a week. Each day we would crack and peel an egg to eat for lunch until they were gone. Now some 60 years later, we are told to keep these eggs refrigerated. What changed? -A little nauseous

ED NOTE: Since the egg is fully cooked, and still in the shell, it shouldn't go bad. I think the question you have, has something to do with Trump's first term. The refrigerated egg is like the previous question above, and is just fake news put out by the media.

Dear Editor: In last month's Metro, you had a cheeky meme that said, "You are now aware that you can't say - 'Irish Wristwatch'". I've been trying to say that phrase for over an hour with no success. I don't have a question, I just wanted to say "screw you". -Tongue Tied

ED NOTE: Well, I guess there are now TWO things you can't say on the McCarty Metro!

Dear Editor: I enjoyed your Best Burger page in last month's Metro. I remember Top Hat and Henry's burgers came wrapped in wax paper. Ordering at Jack in the Box was done speaking into the clown's mouth. It did take two hands to handle the Whopper, and I enjoyed Burger Chef where you could order a burger and load it up with fixings at their salad bar. Fuddruckers was not mentioned, however they didn't open in Michigan until 1980. Great job on the Metro. -Extra Onions Please

ED NOTE: Great memories! Thank you!