Picture This: Remembering the Fallen in Photographs

Remembering the Fallen in Photographs By Kristi Finefield One of the most enduring traditions of Memorial Day is the decoration of the graves of fallen service members with such items as flowers and American flags. This annual day of commemoration was at one time referred to as Decoration Day because of this practice. My grandmother grew up in the deep South, where tradition held that you took an annual pilgrimage to your family cemetery, which in their case required a road trip to southern Arkansas, to clean and decorate the graves of all of your ancestors. This tradition may have inspired the post Civil War movement to decorate the graves of those who died in military service. While the holiday was referred to as both Decoration Day and Memorial Day for decades, Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday in 1971 and is always celebrated on the last Monday in May. Gestures of respect and commemoration on Memorial Day are made in acts both small and large, personal and ceremonial. Gratitude for the sacrifice and service of millions of American men and women takes place in all parts of the world, in countries where service members fell fighting as well as at memorials in the United States. Journey to the graves in Arlington National Cemetery, in small rural cemeteries and in foreign lands, and travel to battlefields and memorials where many are named and remembered through the images below. Scenes in Arlington Cemetery. Decorating the graves of those who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War. Photo, National Photo Company Collection, 1929 May 30. https://ift.tt/2s7L6wB Grave decorated on Decoration Day. Photo by Arthur S. Siegel, 1943 June. https://ift.tt/2IMGGRU   In far off Serbia. Graves of Americans who died while carrying on relief work of America were not forgotten on Decoration Day even in far away Serbia. This picture shows the grave of Capt. Harold V. Aupperle of the American Red Cross, formerly of Junction City, Colorado, who died at Nova Varosh, Serbia on June 14, 1919, while engaged in relieving the suffering of that country. Red Cross workers and Serbians united in placing flowers and flags upon the grave. Photo, American National Red Cross photograph collection, 28 August 1920 [date received]. https://ift.tt/2s81yNt Memorial Day, Arlington, 5/30/24. Photo, National Photo Company Collection, [19]24 May 30. https://ift.tt/2INxRr7   Graves, U.S. NURSES HONOR JANE A. DELANO. Tributes to the memory of Jane A. Delano, head of the Nursing Service of the American Red Cross who died on duty in France in 1919, were laid on Memorial Day on the spot where she sleeps in Arlington. Miss Clara D. Noyes, National Director of the Red Cross Nursing Service (on left), with the wreath from the American Red Cross; Miss Ida Butler, Assistant National Director (on right), with the wreath from the Alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, of which Miss Delano had been Superintendent of Nurses, and Mrs. Annie Humphrey (centre), Director of Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick, Washington Division, Charter member of the Jane A. Delano Post No. 344 Nurses of the American Legion, New York, with the wreath from that Post. Photo, American National Red Cross Photograph Collection, 1924. https://ift.tt/2KVQABF Gold Star mothers at Tomb of Unknown Soldier. Among the thousands of tribute paid at the Tomb of the Unknown Solder in Arlington National Cemetery, Memorial Day, none was more touching than the placing of a wreath by the Country's Gold Star Mothers. Photo by Harris & Ewing, 1927 May 30. https://ift.tt/2J68tjK Heroes of battle of Gettysburg paid tribute by surviving brothers-in-arms. Washington, D.C., May 30, Although there are only a few of the boys in blue and gray left, two of them were strong enough today, Memorial Day, to drop flowers from the air on the Gettysburg battlefield to honor their comrades who lost their lives in this historic battle of the Civil War. Photo by Harris & Ewing, 1938 May 30. https://ift.tt/2xm1IpB Memorial Day, Vietnam Memorial, Washington, D.C. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, 2006 May 29. https://ift.tt/2GOpXMc Learn More: Read past posts about Memorial Day from various blogs of the Library of Congress, collected in Remembering Our Honored Dead: A Memorial Day Round Up from Teaching with the Library of Congress, including a post from Picture This: From Decoration Day to Memorial Day. View additional images on the subject of Memorial Day and related to Decoration Day in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. View photographs of Arlington National Cemetery over the years. The Library of Congress is commemorating Memorial Day with an open house in the Main Reading Room. Prints & Photographs Division and staff of other research centers will be on hand to highlight our collections and services. If you're in Washington, D.C., this Memorial Day, please join us! Published May 25, 2018 at 10:16AM Read more on https://loc.gov Manage this Applet Unsubscribe from these notifications or sign in to manage your Email Applets.