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Article: AREA'S MILITARY CONNECTION GIVES SPECIAL MEANING TO MEMORIAL DAY.(PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS)
- Article from:
- The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)
- Article date:
- May 30, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 The Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of the Dialog Corporation by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Alan Flanders
Today, the meaning of Memorial Day can get lost easily in a sea of sale ads and commercials on a lazy day off.
For many in Hampton Roads, Memorial Day means the official opening of tourist season in Virginia Beach or marks the time to get the family boat ready.
But the day originally was marked on May 30, 1868, as a day of remembrance for our Civil War dead. Instead of beach holidays, shopping sprees or an afternoon in the hammock, families held reunions and took the afternoon to visit cemeteries where they decorated graves with flowers.
It was indeed a somber occasion, but one that also reinforced a patriotic ...