Memorial Day is a day that has been confused with many different things: Veterans Day, Armed Forces Day and even relegated to being celebrated as a day off for barbeques and cooking out. It is however, a day that was set aside to remember those that have died in service to our country.

The holiday took until 1890 to be recognized across the United States as a national holiday. At inception the day was called Decoration Day, but now is called Memorial Day. It seems today that there is confusion on what we are honoring: We are honoring and remembering the men and women who have died while serving in the armed forces. No greater sacrifice could ever be asked of an individual.

Usmemorialday.org states that, “On 5 May 1868, General John Logan, National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11 [stated] ‘The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,’ he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.”

As with many traditions, Memorial Day has changed in certain ways due to acts of congress, presidential bequests, and the wars that followed the Civil War. Traditionally, flags are raised to their full height and then slowly lowered to half-staff. This is only supposed to be until noon, where the flag is raised to full-staff as a symbol of the living’s commitment to remember the fallen.

Another tradition, added in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, is the 3 p.m. ‘National Moment of Remembrance’ where Americans are “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of Remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps’.”

Let’s remember the fallen this Memorial Day. Unite as a state and country to honor those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for it. Perhaps that means attending an event, paying respects at a funeral, shaking the hand of a Gold-Star family or maybe, it means just learning the history of the day. Missions may end but the legacies left behind and the pain of their absences endures. This Memorial Day, let us remember.