Profile America on U.S. Census Bureau
Profile America — Monday, May 30th. Today is Memorial Day, looked on as the start of the summer season and a time for family gatherings and sporting events. But the true meaning of the day is underlined by the continuing sacrifices made by U.S. forces in several Middle East operations. The first official observance of Memorial Day was on this date in 1868, ordered by General John Logan, when flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. From the Civil War through Vietnam, some 566,000 U.S. service personnel died in combat, more than half of them in World War II. Across the U.S., there are just over 23 million veterans of the armed forces. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Sources: Chase’s Calendar of Events 2011, p. 295
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004-2005, t. 506, 507
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 519
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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau