It is almost impossible for us today to understand the feeling of the country in the late 1860s regarding the casualties of the Civil War. The names Gettysburg, Manassas, Shiloh, Antietam, Chickamauga and dozen of other battles sites were still fresh memories. For the Union, or the North, of every 24 men of military age one had died in the War, and two others had been wounded, many losing an arm or leg. Just think how you might feel if of every 24 men you know one had died in the service and two more had been injured. As only about half the men of military age actually served, the losses were greater among who served. Of those that served in the Union Army; one in every 11 died and one of every 4 was a casualty. Just to put this in perspective, if our casualties in the Iraq War were in the same proportion to our current population, we would have suffered 1,500,000 deaths and another 2,500,000 would have been wounded. Thus, the death rate would be nearly 400 times the 4100 of our soldiers lost in this war. Another perspective is that the graduating class of Reynoldsburg High School this year has about 230 males. Of a group this size, 108 would have served in the military during the four-year long Civil War. Of these 108, 9 or 10 would have died and 16 others would have been wounded, some losing an arm or leg. Reynoldsburg and Truro Township were not immune to this suffering of the Civil War. The 1981 History of Reynoldsburg lists 170 men known to have served in the Civil War and the names of 20 who lost their lives. This is one death for every 8.5 who served. Thus, it is with heavy hearts in the years following the Civil War that various communities across our nation took up the practice of remembering their lost loved ones by decorating the graves of soldiers who died during the Civil War. This was done in the spring, when flowers were in bloom. In early May of 1868 the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Union veteran's organization, asked that on May 30th flowers be placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He selected this date because no major battle had been fought on May 30th, so this date would not honor the victors in a battle but those who gave their lives for what they believed in. Within a few years all of the northern states had adopted the practice of proclaiming May 30 as a day to remember the soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War and to decorate their graves. Thus, it became known as Decoration Day. The southern states generally honored their veterans or other days, usually in April or May. In 1882 the day of remembrance was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day and over the years it has been expanded to be a time to remember all deceased veterans and even family members. Memorial Day remained on May 30th until 1971 when it was changed to the last Monday in May, such as today. Today I ask you to imagine the heavy hearts of those living in the 1860s who had lost so many that they knew -- their family members, their friends, the fellow citizens of their communities. And I ask you to remember with solemn appreciation those who have served our country, those who continue to serve our country, and especially those who gave their lives in military service.

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