Remembering Through the Generations: What Memorial Day Means to Me
As Memorial Day approaches, many of us prepare for backyard barbecues, travel plans, and the long weekend. But for those of us who study the past, genealogists, family historians, and preservationists, it is a sacred time for reflection.
Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, began after the Civil War to honor fallen Union soldiers. Over time, it became a National Day of Remembrance for all who died in U.S. military service. While many observe it with flags and parades, for me, it is also about stories personally, profound, and often forgotten.
As someone who has spent decades uncovering family legacies, I see Memorial Day as a reminder that names etched in stone are not just records, they are voices, dreams, and lives lived with purpose. I think of the soldier who never returned home, the mother who waited for letters that never came, and the stories left untold unless we uncover and share them.
- Revisit the military service records of my relatives.
- Share a story from my tree on social media to honor their memory.
- Help document burials in cemeteries in Henderson County.
If you’d like to make this Memorial Day more meaningful through genealogy, here are some ideas:
- Search for military records on Ancestry, Fold3, or FamilySearch.
- Create or update a Find A Grave memorial for a veteran.
- Ask older family members if they have stories about a relative who served.
- Begin a digital tribute or memorial scrapbook.
This day is more than a break from work, it’s a time to remember, to teach, and to preserve. May we carry their legacies forward.
