In Pursuit of Perfection

Memorial Day Traces Roots to Freed Blacks

 

clipped from www.lawattstimes.com Memorial Day Traces Roots to Freed Blacks                               By SAMUEL WILLIAMS JR. Sgt. Willam Harvey Carney LOS ANGELES—Many of the Southland’s African American workforce relish Memorial Day as a much-needed day off and the start of a shortened workweek. Little do they know that the holiday finds its roots trenched deep in the annals of black American history. According to Yale University history department professor David Blight, the first Memorial Day was actually observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at an historic racetrack in Charleston, S.C. The site was previously used as a Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died while prisoners of war.

Soldier's Memorial

I'm the father of three sons and an Army veteran.  My wife is also a veteran.  So is my brother.  My Uncle Robert recently retired from the Army Reserves with 26 years an an E-8.  I have 2 other uncles who served in the Army as well.  My paternal grandfather served in World War II.  He volunteered.  My great grandfather was drafted to serve in World War I.  I recently found his enlistment papers on Ancestry.com.

This weekend I'm going to take my family to the Virginia War Memorial.  Make sure you take a moment to remember the sacrifices of our soldiers down through the our country's history. 

No politics here.  Just a lot of fellow Americans who were willing to contribute to our nation and paid the ultimate price while doing it.