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America commemorates Memorial Day

Folks across the nation are recognizing the sacrifice of America's fighting forces.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — It's Memorial Day, a time set aside for America to remember its men and women who died to give us all our freedoms and liberties.

The exact origin of Memorial Day is somewhat in dispute, but most sources say it began after the Civil War to honor those killed in that conflict. At least one account says freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina were the first to mark the occasion, when they celebrated the end of the war in 1865.

First known as "Decoration Day," the first official proclamation of the holiday was made in 1868 by an organization of Northern veterans which said that people should celebrate the day on May 30. It would remain on that exact date for almost 100 years.

In the 1880s, people began to refer to it as Memorial Day, and over time (particularly after World War I) that became the adopted standard. It wasn't until 1967, however, that federal law officially named it "Memorial Day."

A year later, Congress passed a measure which made the official observance of Memorial Day on the last Monday in May, rather than always on May 30.

We want to honor the true meaning of the day and it's within that spirit that News19 joins everyone across the nation in recognizing the sacrifice of America's fighting forces.

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