According to CNN, Congress declared Waterloo, New York, to be the birthplace of the Memorial Day in 1966. Then in 1971, Congress declared the last Monday in May to be the national remembrance holiday for American soldiers lost in war.
The holiday is older than Veterans Day, which is formerly known as Armistice Day because it commemorates the end of “The Great War,” or World War 1. Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11th each year.
Memorial Day History
On May 5, 1866, residents of Waterloo first observed the holiday to remember military personnel lost to the Civil War.
Within a few years the north and south observed on different days to mark those lost, respectively, in the Union and Confederate armies.
Memorial Day now honors American soldiers who died serving in any war.
U.S. War Casualties
Civil War - Approximately 620,000 Americans died; the Union Army lost nearly 365,000 troops while the Confederacy lost about 260,000.
World War I - 116,516 Americans died.
World War II - 405,399 Americans died.
Korean War - 36,574 Americans died.
Vietnam Conflict - 58,220 Americans died.
Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm - 383 Americans died.
Operation Iraqi Freedom - 4,411 Americans died.
Operation New Dawn - 73 Americans died.
Operation Enduring Freedom - 2,346 Americans died.
American soldiers were also killed in conflicts like the 1983 Grenada invasion, and in current, still active conflicts.
On December 28, 2000, President William Jefferson Clinton officially designated 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day each year as the National Moment of Remembrance.