What is Memorial Day?
Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor all members of the US military that have died in service.
Not hailing from the US, I have to say I was initially confused about the meaning of Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. In England, where I grew up, we recognized (celebrated is the wrong word) Armistice/Remembrance Day, long since relegated from November 11th to the closest Sunday.
In the US, Memorial Day has been recognized since 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War. The last Monday in May was only officially set as an holiday in 1971.
Memorial Day also serves to mark the unofficial first day of summer and the start of grilling or barbecue season. About 18,000 people get injured and about 5 die each year from grilling related injuries. If you're firing up your grill today, please be careful. Never light a gas grill with a match and be careful with the lighter fluid if you're using charcoal. And, though it may be obvious, never use gasoline or diesel to jump start a charcoal grill!
So what is Veteran's Day then?
Veteran's Day was co-opted from Armistice Day on November 11th as a day to honor all who have served in the military. As the last of the ‘dough boys' generation has passed on there are still plenty of veterans who have served both in times of conflict and peace to preserve our freedoms. Unlike Memorial Day, Veteran's Day is not an official holiday in the US.
The US Flag photo
I took this photo on my birthday a few years back while riding the Bolivar Ferry ‘Robert C. Lanier' from Port Bolivar to galveston. Bob Lanier, former three-term Mayor of houston was himself a veteran having served as an officer in the United States Navy.
Photo Recipe
I took the photo hand-held, one of a burst sequence as I tried to capture the flag billowing in the breeze. In the original crop I had the staff vertical but I rotated the image to make the stripes of the flag horizontal as I thought that improved the composition.
- Exposure: ISO 100: 1/320 sec at f/9.0
- Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm
Single layer processed through Lightroom CC, Photomatix 4.2, and photoshop CC
