Memorial Day Honor Roll

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States. It is a day to commemorate those who were killed in action and who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, with the first national observance on May 30, 1890, to honor the Union soldiers who died during the Civil War. Other states had observed prior to 1890, with both Union and Confederate graves decorated. In 1968 Congress standardized the day it was observed to the last Monday in May and renamed it more broadly to Memorial Day.

I've wanted to put together a roll of relatives in my family tree who I honor on Memorial Day. I use the tag feature on Ancestry.com to identify "Killed in Action" or "Died in Service". I have highlighted some in individual blog posts.

• Horace Joseph (age 26) - 2nd cousin 1x removed - Killed in action June 6, 1944 (D-Day) during World War II. He served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooped with the 307th Airforce Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division.
• John Alexander Moore III (age 26) - 3rd cousin - Killed while in service 18 Nov. 1973 during Vietnam War. He served in the U.S. Navy as Hospital Corpsman, 3rd Class.
• Irwin Kolodney (age 23) - 1st cousin 2x removed - Killed in action on 28 Sep. 1944 in the European Theater during World War II. He served in the U.S. Army in the 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Division.

I have a much longer list for Memorial Day for my Canadian relatives, observed on July 1st. Who are you honoring today?