The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Memorial Day (observed)

Paul Roebling, Jay Unger, & David McCullough, "Ashokan Farewell/Sullivan Ballou Letter" from The Civil War: Original Sountrack Recording (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Operation AXIOM: Decoration Day
From 1868 through 1970, Decoration Day was observed on 30 May. Effective 1971, the Congress mandated that Memorial Day be observed on the last Monday in May, creating a three-day weekend that is widely regarded as the unofficial start of summer. This move, eminently practical, has been deliterious to the observance, stripping Memorial Day of its patriotic & spiritual dimension. Every Armistice Day, I quote a line by the writer Kurt Vonnegut, from his novel Breakfast of Champions:

"Armistice Day has become Veterans' Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans' Day is not."

To paraphrase Vonnegut:

Decoration Day has become Memorial Day. Decoration Day was sacred. Memorial Day is not.