# It's Memorial Day, NOT Veteran's Day! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 27, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341 "2014-05-27T02:33:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/1 "2014-05-27T02:33:20Z")
When did Memorial Day become another all-purpose “honor the troops” day? Was it so gradual I missed it? It’s supposed to be about soldiers who gave their all. Bluntly, it’s to remember those who never got a chance to be veterans. During today’s Dbacks game (against the US Military’s honorary team, the Padres) every mention of the day seems to be about families of serving military, etc. Maybe talking about dead people is too much of a bring-down, but still. Both teams also are wearing camo-themed uniforms. I would think maybe black arm bands, or a tasteful poppy, would be more in line with what the day is supposed to be about. Opinions? ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/2 "2014-05-27T02:39:10Z")
> **[Memorial Day](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day)** > > Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. From 1868 to 1970, it was observed on May 30. Since 1970, it is observed on the last Monday of May. > Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day to honor and mourn those who died while serving in the U.S. military. Many volunteers place American flags on the graves of military ... The holiday is in memory of the war dead in the US. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/3 "2014-05-27T02:51:25Z")
About the same time that July 4th also became “honor the troops” day. Even worse, last year the local TV station ran a veterans story on Labor Day. As a union member, I was not amused. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/4 "2014-05-27T02:53:11Z")
> [@missred](#): > > [Memorial Day - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day) > > The holiday is in memory of the war dead in the US. I think you may have misread the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/5 "2014-05-27T03:31:42Z")
Well, I don’t think the dead soldiers mind that the living ones are getting all the attention. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/6 "2014-05-27T04:08:37Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > **It’s Memorial Day, NOT Veteran’s Day!** > When did Memorial Day become another all-purpose “honor the troops” day? Was it so gradual I missed it? > […] [Stuff irrelevant to my reply ignored.] > > Opinions? You commie bastard. Seriously, I think Memorial Day as it is actually observed is highly personal. Rather than showing shots of people standing somberly/expressing grief over graves, mass event organizers along with the people participating choose to honor those serving. There have been quite a few news stories over the past few days about people who _did_ make the ultimate sacrifice for their country, both nationally as well as locally. Letterman had a Medal of Honor winner from the war in Afghanistan on last week (sorry, can’t remember his name). They spent much of the time talking about those who did not survive the attack. Letterman commonly has MOH recipients on his show, both to honor them and to honor their comrades who fell in battle. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/7 "2014-05-27T04:17:02Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > About the same time that July 4th also became “honor the troops” day. Even worse, last year the local TV station ran a veterans story on Labor Day. As a union member, I was not amused. The national fit of Troop-olatry has been going on for a while now. The collective consciousness had been beating itself so hard over “OMG, we treated the Viet Vets so badly” before Gulf I (but DID we do anything to make up to them?) that people got it into their heads that going forward we had to strike our breast and cry out how much we care for the troops every chance we get. Which is a good and honorable thing to do, but is also easier than actually, like, doing something to give the servicemembers, veterans, and families better working/living conditions, better care services, more secure benefits, and better-thought-out missions that minimize their chances to get messed up in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/8 "2014-05-27T07:36:35Z")
Or, you know, praising Teh Troops in the abstract gives the politicians giving the troops their orders lots of cover to use Teh Troops in horrible ways. It’s a way to try to shame anti-war (just war, less war, laws of war, whatever) protests. If they’re co-opting Labor Day for this sort of thing, I figure Thanksgiving will be converted into a holiday honoring Teh Trooops next. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/9 "2014-05-27T07:51:39Z")
Why do you hate America **JAQ**? /Kidding ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/10 "2014-05-27T08:01:41Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > If they’re co-opting Labor Day for this sort of thing, I figure Thanksgiving will be converted into a holiday honoring Teh Trooops next. I’m old enough to remember Sgt. Slaughter using Thanksgiving as an opportunity to get cheap heat by insulting the troops. In _1990_. We may have missed the boat on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/11 "2014-05-27T11:49:06Z")
> [@missred](#): > > [Memorial Day - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day) > > The holiday is in memory of the war dead in the US. I know it’s wrong, but I use the day to observe all those who have given their lives in service of the public. Whether that’s a soldier, firefighter, police officer, or Bob who got shot trying to stop a robbery. I know it’s not technically correct, but we don’t have an equivalent day for the other folks and they deserve as much credit as a soldier. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/12 "2014-05-27T12:04:49Z")
How long before Santa trades in his red suit for camo? How long before we start seeing missiles and tanks on parade for Independence Day? This Patriotic Correctness and Troop Fetishism has jumped the shark long ago. Sure, the troops have important jobs to do. But so does everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/13 "2014-05-27T13:05:32Z")
I thought it was a day to observe the first BBQ of the season. You’re telling me it’s not??? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/14 "2014-05-27T13:30:39Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > The collective consciousness had been beating itself so hard over “OMG, we treated the Viet Vets so badly” before Gulf I (but DID we do anything to make up to them?)… We started treating the effects of Agent Orange and their PTSD. Only took 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/15 "2014-05-27T14:25:16Z")
> [@Sinaptics](#): > > I know it’s wrong, but I use the day to observe all those who have given their lives in service of the public. Whether that’s a soldier, firefighter, police officer, or Bob who got shot trying to stop a robbery. > > I know it’s not technically correct, but we don’t have an equivalent day for the other folks and they deserve as much credit as a soldier. I’m looking forward to some way to honor those who died while serving as farmers. I personally know more farmers who died doing their job than I know war dead (disclaimer - my mother’s brother was KIA in WWII). I suppose the same thing could be said about miners and truck drivers. People sometimes die doing their jobs, and some jobs have more immediate impact on our lives than far-off combat. Shouldn’t they be honored with a special day? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/16 "2014-05-27T14:37:34Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Well, I don’t think the dead soldiers mind that the living ones are getting all the attention. Their families might. I agree with other posters that this warrior worship has gotten out of hand the last few years. It is pretty clear around DC that memorial day is about those who died. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > I thought it was a day to observe the first BBQ of the season. You’re telling me it’s not??? The first BBQ of the season is spring break AFAICT. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/17 "2014-05-27T14:43:07Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Which is a good and honorable thing to do, but is also easier than actually, like, doing something to give the servicemembers, veterans, and families better working/living conditions, better care services, more secure benefits, and better-thought-out missions that minimize their chances to get messed up in the first place. There was also a commercial during the game about an organization that the viewer could donate to, an organization to help our wounded veterans get the help they need. I thought we already had such an organization? The VA is supposed to be doing that. Maybe we should fix the VA first? > [@Shakes](#): > > Why do you hate America **JAQ**? I laughed.🙂 In grade school, we had “Decoration Day” tasks: placing flowers on the graves, learning about Flanders Field, etc. IIRC, there was a subdued parade on Memorial Day. This would have been at the height of the Viet Nam war, but I don’t remember there being a lot of Nam mentions in the parade. I don’t think there were many (if any) KIAs from our town in Viet nam. My memories are hazy, so make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/18 "2014-05-27T14:59:45Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > People sometimes die doing their jobs, and some jobs have more immediate impact on our lives than far-off combat. Shouldn’t they be honored with a special day? [WWII industrial fatalities outnumbered military until 1943](http://mathscinotes.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/world-war-2-industrial-casualties/) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/19 "2014-05-27T15:06:48Z")
Every sporting event is an honor-the-troops occasion now. It didn’t matter that it was Memorial Day. It’s also a test-your-patriotism occasion. If you don’t partake in the standing ovation you’re suspect. If you roll your eyes because of the cheap lip service we give troops instead of actually weighing the value of their lives before sending them off to war, you hate the USA. And the 10,000th kid/wife/dog surprised by a soldier coming home is as touching as the first. See you at the two minute hate! ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341/20 "2014-05-27T16:09:47Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Every sporting event is an honor-the-troops occasion now. It didn’t matter that it was Memorial Day. It’s also a test-your-patriotism occasion. If you don’t partake in the standing ovation you’re suspect. If you roll your eyes because of the cheap lip service we give troops instead of actually weighing the value of their lives before sending them off to war, you hate the USA. And _God Bless America_ is not the fucking national anthem! You don’t have to (and probably shouldn’t) stand and put your hand over your heart. That makes me so mad! You see veterans, and likely active duty military, doing that at games. You’d think they of all people would know better. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-memorial-day-not-veterans-day/689341.md?page=2)