Saluting Memorial Day

Hats off to those who served or are serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines and U.S. Army!

For anyone contemplating ways to observe the "memorial" part of Memorial Day in a more traditional manner, some ideas follow:

• visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
• visit memorials.
• fly the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.
• fly the 'POW/MIA Flag' as well.
• participate in a "National Moment of Remembrance" at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day, and for taps to be played.
• renew a pledge to aid widows, widowers, and orphans of our fallen dead, and to aid disabled veterans.
• watch rebroadcasts of The National Memorial Day Concert. Due to severe weather, the live broadcast of the concert on PBS slated for May 27 was cancelled and the Capitol grounds were evacuated. As a result, the 8 p.m. broadcast on PBS aired lived for the first half of the show, then transitioned seamlessly to footage from the 2011 National Memorial Day Concert. The 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. broadcast will feature the first half of the 2012 concert that aired live, followed by a seamless transition to footage of the 2012 concert taped during the full dress rehearsal on Saturday, May 26.

Did you know the first known observance of Memorial Day was in Charleston, SC, in 1865?