Honoring the Fallen: America's Memorial Day Legacy

Freedom isn't free. This simple yet profound truth anchors our special Memorial Day episode as we explore the origins, evolution, and significance of this solemn American holiday that honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.

Did you know that approximately 43% of Americans, primarily younger generations, don't fully understand Memorial Day's origins? Beyond barbecues and beach trips marking summer's unofficial start lies a day born from the ashes of the Civil War, where an estimated 750,000 Americans perished fighting each other on home soil. We trace how this commemoration began in 1868 as "Decoration Day," when communities would adorn the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags, and how it gradually transformed into the national observance we know today.

• Click HERE for the Memorial Day tribute from Hillsdale College

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Episode Transcript

John Broer (00:02):
Welcome back to The Bossh ole Chronicles everybody
out there in The Bossh oleTransformation Nation.
It is Tuesday, May 27th ifyou're listening to this, on the
day of its release, but I'mrecording it on Memorial Day
2025.
Just a little episode thisweek, just to show appreciation
for the amazing holiday that wecelebrate, Memorial Day.

(00:24):
For the amazing holiday that wecelebrate, Memorial Day.
The Bossh ole Chronicles arebrought to you by Real Good
Ventures, the talentoptimization firm, helping
organizations diagnose theirmost critical people and
execution issues withworld-class analytics.
Make sure to check out all theresources in the show notes and
be sure to follow us and shareyour feedback.

(00:46):
Enjoy today's episode.
So if you're listening to thison Tuesday, May 27th, I just
want to let you know I'mactually recording this on
Monday, May 26th, 2025, which isMemorial Day here in the United
States, and I wanted to do aspecial episode.

(01:08):
I don't know if it's because Ispent some time in Gettysburg a
few weeks ago.
For those of you that have beentracking and listening in the
last month or so, I had theprivilege of being part of a
leadership development programin Gettysburg sponsored by one
of our clients that uses theBattle of Gettysburg that

(01:30):
happened in July of 1863 as abackdrop to leadership traits
and leadership principles andthe relationship of the generals
both on the Confederacy and theUnion sides.
And it was fascinating I justcaught up on this statistic

(01:53):
within the last few days thatroughly 43% of Americans, and
the majority of that 43% are ofa younger age, don't really
understand the origin ofMemorial Day.
You know, Memorial Day weekendushers in the first part of
summer.
I mean it's not quiteofficially summer yet.
People think of Memorial Dayweekend, the three-day weekend,

(02:13):
as time to get together.
Some people take off, get outof town, extend their vacation
because they have the day off,and that's great.
That's wonderful.
I mean it is a time to unplug,enjoy a long weekend.
I know for us this weekend wegot to go see our great nephew
play baseball.
We spent some time with ourkids and their friends.

(02:34):
I mean it was just an amazingtime.
But I never want to forget whatthis weekend is actually about.
So I thought, in lieu of talkingabout Boss holes and Bossh ole
Prevention, I just wanted tofirst off articulate my
appreciation, my family'sappreciation, for all the men
and women that have served thisgreat nation over the last

(02:57):
almost 250 years in the armedforces.
And, by the way, we've had someamazing people on The Bossh ole
Chronicles.
And because I was in Gettysburg, I actually I never realized

(03:39):
that it was actually after theCivil War that the origin of
Memorial Day started.
So I just wanted to walkthrough the years of our history
and go back to the origin ofMemorial Day, and it happened
after the Civil War in the 1860s.
And again, just to put thingsin perspective, the Civil War of

(04:00):
course ran from 1861 to 1865.
Now, that number was muchhigher because there were also
civilian casualties, but thosenumbers can range anywhere from
600,000 to 750,000.

(04:21):
I mean, just imagine the sheernumber of people that lost their
lives during that period oftime of the Civil War.

(05:00):
Cemeteries started to decoratethe graves of the fallen
soldiers and they called itDecoration Day and apparently
the first official observance.
Union prisoners of war thatwere buried.
Well, they were buried at aprison that was previously a
racetrack and then they wereexhumed and reburied properly
and their graves were decorated,and this is oftentimes
recognized as the precursor toMemorial Day.
Now, the official start ofMemorial Day was May 5th 1868.

(05:25):
Now this was actually startedby again based on my research by
General John A Logan, who isthe head of the Grand Army of
the Republic, which was a unionveterans organization, and they
declared that May 30th wasDecoration Day and the purpose
of it was to decorate the gravesof the Civil War dead.

(05:48):
So May 30th was chosen,apparently because it wasn't
tied to a specific battle andalso that flowers would be in
bloom to be able to decorate thegraves.
And so this is what peoplewould do they would have
speeches, they would gather atthe graveyards and for both, you
know, Union and Confederatesoldiers, and they would

(06:11):
decorate them.
Now, it originated really inthe states where the Civil War
took place, mostly in the East,but of course, by the 1870s
Decoration Day was observed inmany of the northern states and
some of the southern states helda separate commemoration for

(06:32):
the Confederate dead, for theConfederate dead.
But the state of New York, in1873, became the first state to
officially recognize DecorationDay as a holiday and setting a
precedent for the other states.
So move into the early 20thcentury and World War I takes
place.
After World War I, which tookplace between 1914 and 1918, the

(06:57):
holiday expanded to honor allAmericans killed in all wars,
not just the Civil War.
Memorial Day eventuallygradually replaced Decoration
Day, reflecting a broader scope,but it wasn't until 1967 that
Memorial Day became the officialfederal name under the Uniform

(07:18):
Monday Holiday Act.
You know, going from the late20th century to present day, in
1971, the Uniform Monday HolidayAct moved Memorial Day from May
30th to the last Monday in Mayto create a three-day weekend.
And apparently it was a matterof some debate because they felt
that it, by just sort oftagging it onto a weekend, it

(07:40):
sort of made it, it diluted thereverence and the solemnity that
was, you know, felt and whatDecoration Day and Memorial Day
was what it was all about.
And I think, of course, overtime I mean, as we moved past
many of the wars that we've hadand fewer and fewer people

(08:02):
served or we had fewer veteransto tell the stories of the
battles that Memorial Dayweekend there's still parades.
We still have our flags and ourcolors showing out there.
I know our flag is always out,but the thing is is that it's
become a little bit faded interms of understanding the

(08:22):
gravity and what it actuallymeans and one of the
distinctions of Memorial Day.
Of course, Memorial Dayspecifically honors those who
died in military service,distinguishing it from Veterans
Day, which honors all veterans,it from Veterans Day, which
honors all veterans, and ArmedForces Day for active duty
members.
So there's a real distinctionthere.

(08:47):
Memorial Day is a time for usto pause and pray and reflect
and certainly give thanks to theover 1 million men and women
that have given their lives inthe cause of freedom, in order
to really understand themagnitude of that sacrifice.
I went back and I was saying,okay, since the Revolutionary
War, and realizing that a lot ofthese numbers are estimates

(09:08):
because they didn't keep asaccurate records back at the
founding of our country in thecolonial days and then, you know
, upon our declaration ofindependence.
But I wanted to get an estimateof how many men and women have
died in the service of theUnited States.
And, granted, I know a lot ofpeople don't like to talk about

(09:28):
war.
I mean, any time we can avoidmilitary conflict is a good
thing and, at the same time, ourunique freedoms, the truly
exceptional nature andcharacteristics of the United
States has been paid for by theblood of patriots and men and
women that have sacrificed.

(09:49):
So what does that numberactually look like?
So between and I think therewere about 12, the Revolutionary
War, War of 1812, theMexican-American War, the Civil
War because up to that time,Revolutionary War, the estimates
are around 25,000, War of 1812,15,000, Mexican-American War
slightly over 13,000.

(10:10):
But then the Civil War 750,000.
So anywhere between 600 and750,000 in that short amount of
time, right here in the UnitedStates.
Then you went through theSpanish-American War, World War
I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam,the Persian Gulf, post 9-11
wars, Afghanistan, otherconflicts.

(10:33):
The estimated total is 1.4million lives, 1.4 million souls
.
That on this day, we pause andreflect and give thanks for the
ultimate sacrifice that we livein a nation where our freedoms

(10:55):
and our liberties sometimes aretaken for granted and perhaps
not fully appreciated or, at thevery least, acknowledged that
they do not come cheaply.
This is also a fraction of allthe men and women that have
served over the years.
And so today, on Memorial Day2025, upon reflection and just

(11:21):
having a chance to go back andwalk the battlefield at
Gettysburg and realize that evenin Gettysburg, just Gettysburg
alone, in those three days,50,000 to 60,000 soldiers died
in that battle.
This day again is establishedand set aside to memorialize and
recognize the sacrifices thatthey made.

(11:42):
And then, of course, the over 1million that have done it in
all of the conflicts in the nameof the United States.
And also, when I think aboutthe families too, the families
that have sacrificed, the wives,the husbands, the children,
brothers and sisters, moms anddads that have lost their kids,

(12:02):
unfathomable to most of us.
And yet we are thebeneficiaries, we are the ones
that get to live in a nation, aunique and wholly different type
of country, where thosefreedoms and those liberties are
available to us all.

(12:32):
Today, as we usher in, you know,officially summer, and I do
hope you had an amazing timethis past weekend with family
and friends, and I also hope youtook a moment to reflect on why
we have Memorial Day and maybeeven through this episode, you
have a little bit more contextof its origin, the magnitude of
the sacrifice that was made sothat we can enjoy the freedoms

(12:53):
and liberties in our amazingcountry.
And one thing I would point toI don't think it's by accident.
I don't believe in accidents.
I think God has a plan in allthings and he works around us in
so many different ways.
But as I was getting ready torecord this, I received an email
from Hillsdale College and theypublished this.
It's a video just about MemorialDay and it's absolutely

(13:17):
beautiful.
I'm going to put it in the shownotes.
I would encourage you to gowatch it.
It starts out with an addressfrom President Ronald Reagan and
is concluded by the final wordsthat Abraham Lincoln spoke in
Gettysburg during his GettysburgAddress, and I actually, just a

(13:38):
couple of weeks ago, stood inthe exact spot where he
delivered those words.
It's stirring, it's amazing,it's unique and it is something
of which we can be proud.
Again, thank our men and womenwho gave the ultimate sacrifice,
and thank all of our membersthat are currently in the armed
forces and all of our veterans.

(13:59):
God's blessing on all of youand your families and we will
see you next time on the Bosshole Chronicles.
And we will see you next timeon the Bossh ole Chronicles.
Thanks very much for checkingout this episode of the Bossh
ole Chronicles.
It was so good to have you hereand if you have your own Bossh
ole story that you want to sharewith the Bossh ole

(14:21):
Transformation Nation, justreach out.
You can email us atmystory@thebossholechronicles.
com.
Again,mystory@thebossholechronicles.
com.
We'll see you next time.