Memorial Day

By Dave Hirschler, Director of Brand Identity

Ohio Christian University is grateful for those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. It is with appreciation that we celebrate with our fellow Americans in observing Memorial Day. Previously known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a federal holiday for remembering and honoring persons who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. 

On a personal level, I love history and all things patriotic, as does my wife. As such, our family has developed a tradition of attending a Memorial Day service each year. We generally start our day at Grandview Cemetery in Chillicothe, which happens to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has quite a few graves of historical significance. Those in attendance are guided through the cemetery by a Civil War reenactment colorguard. Someone shares some history, then the colorguard honors their memory with a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps. In addition to having the opportunity to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms, many veterans are in attendance, allowing my family the honor to thank them for their service to our country. ​

One thing shared at the ceremony is that three years after the Civil War ended, Major General John A. Logan, the head of an organization of Union veterans established Decoration Day as a day to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.  He stated Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. Historians believe the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, and placed on the last Monday in May.

We are grateful for the sacrifices made on our behalf, to those who now serve and especially to those who paid the ultimate price for our liberties. We echo the sentiments of General Logan when he ordered his posts to decorate graves in 1868, saying, “with the choicest flowers of springtime... we should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

One of the ways Ohio Christian University honors the courageous men and women who serve our country is by offering exclusive tuition rates to active military, veterans, and tuition benefits for their families. To find out more, click here.