this three day weekend. a reminder freedom isn t free because it s about memorial day. honoring the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice protecting the country. holiday dates back more than a century to the debt this conflict ever fought on american soil. as a quick history lesson. 1865 the civil war came to ac end but not without devastating american families more than 600,000 men killed in a bloodbath. grieving mothers, daughters and wives credit the grace of fallen soldiers decorated with hours and flex. the brutal conflict moved major general john logan to establish decoration day may 30, 1868 which could later be known as memorial day. the peaceful they chosen because it wasn t associated with any anniversary of any particular battle, it was for all of them. at the first major ceremony held in arlington national cemetery, the general approach for americans to decorate the graves with springtime flowers proclaiming that no vandalism or neglect, ravages of ti