Memorial Day service scheduled for Sunday in King

King American Legion Post #290 and the Stokes County Arts Council will observe Memorial Day on Sunday, May 26 with a service at the Stokes Veterans Memorial at King Central Park, 302 Kirby Road in King. The public is invited to attend.

The program will begin at 5 p.m. with the Posting of Colors by the American Legion Post #290 Honor Guard. This year’s guest speaker will be Post #290 Legion Commander Ed Ballard. The West Stokes High School Band will perform the Department of Defense arrangement of the National Anthem as well as special music. The program will also include remarks by City of King Mayor Rick McCraw and the participation of North Carolina American Legion Vice-Commander Clifton Kilby, Post #290 Chaplain John Winfrey and Boy Scout Troop 409.

The origins of Memorial Day can be traced back to the aftermath of the American Civil War. As the conflict ended in 1865, people across the country began holding ceremonies to honor the Union and Confederate soldiers who had died in the conflict. One of the earliest known ceremonies took place in Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1865, when a group of freed slaves gathered to commemorate fallen Union soldiers buried in a local racecourse.

The first national observance of Memorial Day, then known as Decoration Day, was declared by General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic on May 5, 1868. The day was designated as a time to decorate the graves of the fallen with flowers and to hold ceremonies to honor their sacrifice.

Over time, Memorial Day became an important national holiday, honoring all Americans who died while serving in the military. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a federal holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday in May.