Memorial Day, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, originated in 1868 as Decoration Day. The day was established as a time for the nation to come together after the Civil War to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War Soldiers with flowers. Decoration Day was officially changed to Memorial Day in 1971, extending the observance to honor all Americans who died while in military service.

Pictured: A Civil War Veteran salutes with a Boy Scout and a Soldier at a grave-site in Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago, Ill., Decoration Day, 1927.

Chicago Daily News photo courtesy of The Library of Congress

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