National Memorial Day concert

The National Memorial Day concert sponsored by Public Broadcasting Service is live tonight at 7 p.m. The concert features actors Joe Montegna and Gary Sinise and of course the National Symphony Orchestra. The concert will take place on the west lawn of the United States Capitol.
Memorial Day was originally Decoration Day designed to honor Union soldiers in the American Civil War. The first observance was on May 1, 1865 at Waterloo, New York by mostly freed slaves.
May 30, 1869 was the first national observance of Decoration Day. Most of the south refused to participate in the celebration with the exception of Columbus, Mississippi. Columbus residents honored both Union and Confederate soldiers.
The name Memorial Day was first used in 1882. The meaning of Memorial Day expanded after World War II. Today, Memorial Day is to commemorate United States men and women who died while in the military service. Memorial Day is one of ten federal holidays. It became a federal holiday in 1967. The holiday was finally adopted by all 50 states in 1978.
The date of May 30 was picked in 1868 because it did not reflect a day of battle. On June 28, 1968 our Congress moved the holiday date to the last Monday of May as part of the Uniform Holiday Bill. Since 1987, Hawaii’s Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has introduced legislation to move the holiday back to May 30 with no success.
Other federal holidays include New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Tonight’s concert will also air on National Public Radio stations as a live broadcast.