The History of Memorial Day (0:00:00)

Happy Memorial Day! Or is it Decoration Day? Over the past two centuries, what first started as a day to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers has transformed into a memorial for all of the soldiers who have fought for our country. Surprisingly enough, this is not the only US holiday that has changed as time has gone on and our society has shifted. As we remember our brave veterans who fought to defend our freedom, we can also gain a better understanding of where this day came from and how its traditions have changed. Joining us today is Professor Matthew Mason, a history professor at Brigham Young University, here with us to discuss the origin of Memorial Day and how memory affects history.

Armed Forces (0:15:51)

In honor of Memorial Day today, we wanted to shine a light on our military veterans, service men and women. Denise Rohan is the former National Commander of the American Legion, the nation’s largest veteran’s service organization. She was also the first woman to lead the legion.  She joins us to talk about helping our veterans and troops.  

Memorial Day Cookouts (0:33:07)

Memorial Day feels like the beginning of summer. School is essentially over, the weather is starting to warm up, and we’ve got a wonderful holiday to commemorate. It’s the perfect time to get outside with your family and have a cookout, a Memorial Day tradition for many people. But what should you grill up this year? We want to help inspire your Memorial Day cookout so you can make it the best one yet. We’ve invited Cheryl Slocum to help give us some ideas. Cheryl is a James Beard Award-winning food writer, magazine editor, and recipe developer.

History Flight (0:50:40)

According to the US Department of Defense, there are still 72,597 Unites States servicemen who are unaccounted for, or MIA, from World War II. That’s over 72 thousand families who never received closure after their loved one didn’t return from war. Not to mention the missing soldiers from the all of the conflicts that have happened since. Luckily, there are organizations like History Flight, who work to find and identify the remains of MIA soldiers so that their loved ones can get the closure they need. We are joined by the Chief Operating Officer of History Flight, Justin LeHew, to talk about their efforts to honor our lost service men and women.

Celebrating Memorial Day at Home (1:09:51)

Something we’ve really loved about this crazy, unexpected time is how creatively people have responded to their situation and found new ways to celebrate important events and holidays. Whether it’s birthdays, anniversaries, or national holidays like today, we’ve all been forced to think outside the box. Normally on Memorial Day people host big events and parties to commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. But just because there’s a pandemic doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate our freedoms and honor our nation’s heroes from home. So today, we’ve invited one of the best celebrators around, Alison from The Alison Show, to give us ideas for how we can still celebrate Memorial Day.

Battle Monuments (1:28:19)

Many Americans spend today by the taking time to visit the graves of their loved ones. It can be a touching scene to see not only your own, but many other families gather to honor the lives of those that served our country. But there were many brave men and women who fought for our country, died, and were buried overseas. So, how is their memory honored? To help us find out we invite Michael Conley onto the show. He is the Chief of Staff at the American Battle Monuments Commission, or ABMC. The government established the ABMC in 1923 to build monuments to respect the fallen and buried American forces in other countries.