# Is Memorial Day for all Veteran or just WWII Vets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468 "2013-05-27T16:52:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/1 "2013-05-27T16:52:27Z")
I always thought Memorial Day was for all Vets. But this article seems to imply the parades are only for WWII? 😕. IIRC didn’t V-J (Victory over Japan) Day get bundled into Memorial Day? Shouldn’t the Viet Nam Vets be honored in parades by now? Or even the The Gulf War Vets from 1991? > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. > [@](#): > > BEVERLY, Mass. – Veterans in suburban Boston gathered in a park to mark Memorial Day this year rather than hold a parade because of failing health and dwindling numbers. > > The city of Beverly called off its parade this year because so few veterans would be able to march. The parade has been a fixture in the town since the Civil War. > > Jerry Guilebbe is the city’s Director of Veterans’ Services. He says it can be difficult for older vets to take part. > > Vietnam veteran Ron Innocenti tells WBZ-TV he hates canceling because of the message it sends to current service members. But he does understand the reason. > > World War II Navy veteran Bill McPherson tells NECN he’s upset about parade cancellation but “there aren’t that many of us left.” ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/2 "2013-05-27T16:55:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I always thought Memorial Day was for all Vets. But this article seems to imply the parades are only for WWII? 😕. There is no such implication in the article, and the very portion you quoted mentions both the Civil War and Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/3 "2013-05-27T16:57:28Z")
Well why in the heck couldn’t they find Veterans for a parade? Over a quarter million men served in Viet Nam. This sure implies that the parade was for WWII. > [@](#): > > World War II Navy veteran Bill McPherson tells NECN he’s upset about parade cancellation but “there aren’t that many of us left.” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/4 "2013-05-27T17:02:35Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This sure implies that the parade was for WWII. It reads to me like they wanted to include WWII vets in the event, and they couldn’t do so in a parade format. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/5 "2013-05-27T17:05:09Z")
Looks like the original news story came from the Boston Globe. > **[Beverly cancels veterans parade - The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/05/25/beverly-cancels-its-downtown-veterans-parade/t4BXKsd7zS6tV69ZwIl09J/story.html)** > > For years, the number of veterans who want to — and can — march through Beverly’s downtown in the annual Memorial Day parade has been dwindling. First, organizers shrank the parade route to make it more tolerable for older veterans. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/6 "2013-05-27T17:08:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Well why in the heck couldn’t they find Veterans for a parade? > > Over a quarter million men served in Viet Nam. > > This sure implies that the parade was for WWII. Just superficial and misleading reporting in that article, is all. [This article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2331494/Memorial-Day-parade-cancelled-aging-veterans-152-years-Boston-suburb-Beverly.html)on the same event indicates that the cancellation was in part due to lack of interest by younger veterans, not just due to the age of WWII vets. > [@](#): > > Aging population: With most WWII veterans now in their 90s, fewer are able to take part in parades and there seems to be little interest from veterans from younger generations in certain areas > [@](#): > > As for younger veterans – like the men and women who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan – they are often too busy to take part. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/7 "2013-05-27T17:10:08Z")
Well Memorial Day isn’t really for Veterans. It’s for those that didn’t make it back to become Veterans. Veterans Day is in November. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/8 "2013-05-27T17:10:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Looks like the original news story came from the Boston Globe. > [http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/05/25/beverly-cancels-its-downtown-veterans-parade/t4BXKsd7zS6tV69ZwIl09J/story.html](http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/05/25/beverly-cancels-its-downtown-veterans-parade/t4BXKsd7zS6tV69ZwIl09J/story.html) That article also says: > [@](#): > > And many of the younger veterans, from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, are first responders who work Memorial Day weekend, he said. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/9 "2013-05-27T17:16:36Z")
That’s a good point. We’re honoring the fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. I can remember going with dad to put flowers on Veterans graves. > [@Loach](#): > > Well Memorial Day isn’t really for Veterans. It’s for those that didn’t make it back to become Veterans. Veterans Day is in November. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/10 "2013-05-27T17:20:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I always thought Memorial Day was for all Vets. But this article seems to imply the parades are only for WWII? 😕. > > IIRC didn’t V-J (Victory over Japan) Day get bundled into Memorial Day? > > Shouldn’t the Viet Nam Vets be honored in parades by now? Or even the The Gulf War Vets from 1991? > [HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/26/memorial-day-parade_n_3340628.html) Memorial Day isn’t for veterans at all (that would be Veterans’ Day). Memorial Day is to remember the war dead. That’s why it’s also known as Remembrance Day (although, infelicitously, Remembrance Day in those other countries is observed on November 11, our Veterans’ Day). Now, many veterans served with some who did not make it back from war. But there seems to be a troubling revisionism in these Memorial Day parades that celebrate old living veterans. Of all the days of the year, Memorial Day is the day to remember that some soldiers don’t get to make it to 95 years old. It’s not about grandpa reminiscing about doing the Charleston in Paris in the mid-40s. It is about the fact that in every war, young sons and brothers and fathers (and these days, daughters and sisters and mothers) die in service to their country, and we ought to reflect on this sobering fact, even if it’s not the most cheerful thought in the world. Some media outlets instead do features on service members who’ve died in duty within the past year, which I think is better in keeping with what Memorial Day is all about. ---
**Author:** ![ombre12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d26b3c/32.png) [@ombre12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre12)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/11 "2013-05-27T17:48:43Z")
I remember growing up in the fifties that Memorial Day was for any beloved who died. That was the day you went to the cemetery to put flowers on deceased family members’ graves. Veterans Day was to honor veterans, dead or alive. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/12 "2013-05-27T17:57:23Z")
> [@ombre12](#): > > I remember growing up in the fifties that Memorial Day was for any beloved who died. That was the day you went to the cemetery to put flowers on deceased family members’ graves. It was originally called Decoration Day, and was dedicated to putting flowers and other decorations on graves of soldiers who fell in the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/13 "2013-05-27T17:57:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > That’s a good point. We’re honoring the fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. > > I can remember going with dad to put flowers on Veterans graves. Having known several who did not make it back it does not feel right when someone thanks me for my service. See me in November. It will still feel wrong but at least it’s the correct day. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/14 "2013-05-27T20:26:13Z")
Nam vets were NOT exactly welcomed by WWI, II, and Korean veterans into the local VFW posts with open arms. Except for their dues. And they never felt much like marching in parades. \*Now every April I sit on my porch And I watch the parade pass before me I see my old comrades, how proudly they march Reliving their dreams of past glories I see the old men all tired, stiff and sore Those weary old heroes of a forgotten war And the young people ask “What are they marching for?” And I ask myself the same question And the band plays Waltzing Matilda And the old men still answer the call But year after year, their numbers get fewer Someday there’ll be no one to march there at all \* ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/15 "2013-05-27T20:31:53Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Well Memorial Day isn’t really for Veterans. It’s for those that didn’t make it back to become Veterans. That would explain the shortage of available marchers. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/16 "2013-05-27T21:36:01Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > That would explain the shortage of available marchers. In THIS universe, anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/17 "2013-05-27T21:41:01Z")
> [@ombre12](#): > > I remember growing up in the fifties that Memorial Day was for any beloved who died. That was the day you went to the cemetery to put flowers on deceased family members’ graves. > > Veterans Day was to honor veterans, dead or alive. Wrong on both counts. ---
**Author:** ![ombre12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d26b3c/32.png) [@ombre12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre12)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/18 "2013-05-28T12:35:39Z")
I realize now that our tradition was wrong historically. Just curious if any others had the same (wrong) idea that Memorial Day was “in memory of” as a generality. Although they did change the name from Decoration Day (which more obviously pertains to the military) to Memorial Day which is somewhat vague. Why and when was the reason for the name change? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/19 "2013-05-28T16:04:05Z")
My father-in-law is a Vietnam vet. He has refused to march in Memorial Day parades before. From him and other Vietnam vets, I get the impression that relatively few Vietnam vets are interested in celebrating their veteran status. Probably because it was such an unpopular war. I wonder if Iraq War veterans will behave similarly in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468/20 "2013-05-28T16:33:31Z")
> [@ombre12](#): > > I realize now that our tradition was wrong historically. > > Just curious if any others had the same (wrong) idea that Memorial Day was “in memory of” as a generality. > > Although they did change the name from Decoration Day (which more obviously pertains to the military) to Memorial Day which is somewhat vague. > > Why and when was the reason for the name change? Decoration Day was named because that is when they decorated the graves of the Civil War dead. It morphed into Memorial Day because it became more than just placing wreaths and flags and it became more than just about the Civil War. The name change wasn’t universal until it was set by law in 1967. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-memorial-day-for-all-veteran-or-just-wwii-vets/659468.md?page=2)