Honoring America's heroes

Cars lined the street in either direction for nearly a mile from the Veterans' Wall of Honor by the Mat-Su Visitors Center, off the Parks Highway. A large crowd gathered before the engraved granite walls to hear the words of Valley veterans and state and military dignitaries -- and to remember and honor those who died for our country. Such was the scene on Monday, May 26.

This scene was played out at other locations throughout the nation, and in Alaska at the Alaska State Veterans Memorial at Byers Lake, the Anchorage Veterans Memorial, the Anchorage Cemetery and at the Ft. Richardson National Cemetery.

Memorial Day was initially known around 1866 as Decoration Day, a tribute to those who died in the Civil War. On May 5, 1868, General John Logan officially proclaimed Memorial Day to be observed on May 30, with flowers placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. The first large-scale ceremony for the holiday was held that day at Arlington National Cemetery.

Approximately 25 places claim connection with the origin of Memorial Day, according to the Department of Veteran's Affairs, many of them in the south where most of the war dead were buried. In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., however, as the "birthplace" of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff, thus marking a tradition held today.

Following World War I, Memorial Day expanded to become a day to pay tribute to those who died in any American war.

In 1971, the United States Congress designated the last Monday in May as Memorial Day, a national holiday.