Memorial Day flag display at Pepperdine College in Malibu, California
In 1866, Henry Welles of Waterloo, New York, suggested that the town’s shops should close May 5 to commemorate the soldiers who had died during the Civil War. Two years later in Waterloo, Gen. John Logan issued a declaration that Decoration Day should be observed nationwide. The declaration said that May 30 would be designated as a day to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.
In 1882, the name of the holiday was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. After World War I, the holiday was expanded to remember soldiers from all American Wars.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon made Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday in May.
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