With Memorial Day around the corner, I wanted to take a moment to share some things about this holiday. It's roots come from the end of the Civil War. Originally, it was named "Decoration Day", referring to the flowers and flags placed on the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers.

It is said that the women in the Southern states began the practice, going as far back as April 25, 1866 in Columbus, Mississippi. The practice spread to parts all over the country from there. Officially, credit is given to Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day, when the first event was held on May 5, 1866.

If you'd like a more complete accounting on the history of Memorial Day, please visit an article I wrote a year ago "The History of Memorial Day".

On this Memorial Day you will find me riding my motorcycle with my fellow buddies from the Iron Horses Riding Club, in the 6th Annual West Coast Thunder. It's a parade of motorcycles running from the Harley dealership in Riverside, CA to the Riverside National Cemetery. At the cemetery there will be ceremonies, and then a party back at the Harley dealership. Some 4,000 motorcycles is expected to be in the parade.

Also wanted to make mention of a Memorial Day poem entitled, "On Rosecrans Hill" written by Jeffrey T. Naas and submitted to me for publishing on one of my websites. It focuses on veterans interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. If you've never been to the cemetery there, you ought make a trip there. It's probably the most beautiful of all national cemeteries, with spectacular views of the Pacific, of San Diego Bay, and the San Diego city skyline. You can see the memorial to the soldiers killed at San Pasqual, including a memorial to the Mormon Battlion, and the memorial to those killed abord the U.S.S. Bennington. There are many other memorials there too.

What will you plan to do this Memorial Day? Post a comment.