We wish everyone a safe and fun Memorial Day holiday weekend! Johnson County Government administrative offices, libraries and health clinics will be closed on Monday, May 30, in observance of the holiday.
 

Celebrating Memorial Day in Johnson County

There are some things to do in Johnson County on the holiday honoring service men and women who have died in American wars.

The Olathe American Legion Earl Collier Post 153’s Memorial Day service begins at 11 a. m. at Veterans Memorial Park, 1025 South Harrison St. Featured speaker will be retired Major General Gene Krase of Lenexa, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War in a 41-year military career. Activities include music by the Olathe Civic Band, playing of “Taps” and laying memorial wreaths.

Also, at the same time (11 a.m.), the annual Memorial Day Service of Remembrance will be taking place at the Johnson County Funeral Chapel and Memorial Gardens, 11200 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, with lunch to follow. The event includes partnerships with American Legion Post 370 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 846, both in Overland Park.

While on Metcalf Avenue and downtown Overland Park, the Overland Park Lions Club raises more than 450 American flags during the holiday weekend.

On Memorial Day, follow @jocogov on Twitter as we will remember the fallen from Johnson County who died while serving our country since 2001. Follow #JoCoHonorTheFallen.
 

A quick history of Memorial Day

Originally known as Decoration Day, a Memorial Day observance began on May 5, 1866, when Henry Welles, a drugstore owner from Waterloo, N.Y., suggested a day to honor soldiers killed in the Civil War. Wreathes, flags, flowers and crosses were placed upon the graves of the dead, and city shops were closed.

Two years later, Major General John Alexander Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued General Order No. 11 on May 5 to establish Decoration Day as a memorial celebration for Union and Confederate soldiers who survived the Civil War to decorate the graves of comrades with flags at Arlington National Cemetery.

Did you know:

• The first state to officially recognize Memorial Day was New York in 1873.
• The name of the observance was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day in 1882.
• Northern states commemorated Memorial Day on May 30. The South refused to acknowledge Memorial Day, honoring their dead on separate days, mostly in April, until after World War I when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war.
• In May 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., as the birthplace of Memorial Day.
• The National Holiday Act of 1971 changed Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday in May.

The National Moment of Remembrance Resolution was passed in 2000. At 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, all Americans are asked to “voluntarily and informally observe” a moment of silence in honor of those who died for the nation’s freedom.

As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”