Ken Graham: From the Publisher

Shortly after the Civil War, communities throughout both the northern and southern states began holding commemorations remembering and honoring the soldiers who died in the war. It soon became a tradition to hold a holiday in the spring called Decoration Day.

People throughout the country visited cemeteries and memorials to place flags and flowers at the graves of fallen soldiers of the war.

In the decades after the civil war, the holiday's name became known as Memorial Day, and it was a day to honor all Americans who died while in military service. (Veterans Day, on the other hand, is a holid...