Who is General John Alexander Logan and what role does his memory play in your Memorial Day celebrations?

Answer 1

General John Alexander Logan had been a general in the Union Army during the US Civil War that ended on April 9, 1865. In 1868 he was the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of military veterans. The members of that group wanted a day to remember those who had died during the Civil War and so on May 5, 1868 General Logan proclaimed Decoration Day as that holiday. It was first observed on May 30, 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery when the graves of both Union and Confederate military personnel buried there were decorated with flowers. After World War I it became the day to honor all members of the US military who died during all wars and military actions in which the the United States had been involved and the day generally became known as Memorial Day. But it was not until May 1967 that President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the legislation that officially changed the name from Decoration Day to Memorial Day.