The LEAP Center’s primarily mission is civic engagement, and there is no way to fulfill that mission without being cognizant of the sacrifice made by those who have served in the US Military.
As a modest recognition of those who, as Abraham Lincoln first said, “gave the last full measure of devotion,” we joined the Huntsville, Texas Lions Club to place flags across a mile-and-a-half section of Huntsville for Memorial Day.
Origins of Memorial Day
Following the loss of more than 600,000 in the Civil War, Americans–in both the North and the South–struggled to recognize their dead in a manner that reflected the magnitude of loss. Drawing on regional traditions and the time-immemorial tradition of placing flowers on graves (a practice that goes back some 12,000 years), people gathered on different dates to mourn and remember.
Boalsburg, PA lays claim to a 1864 celebration; Charleston, SC had a large commemoration in 1865; the cities of Columbus Georgia and Columbus Mississippi had recognitions within a day of each other in 1866. Each of these cities makes a claim to be have hosted the first Memorial Day celebration.
But it was in 1868 that Major John Logan, of the political powerful Grand Army of the Republic, called for May 30 to serve as a “Decoration Day,” during which Americans would remember and place flowers on the graves of the Civil War dead. The date was purposive: the late spring date offered the “choicest” and most ample supply of flowers, the better to decorate the graves of the many dead.
The day of commemoration took hold, even as the Grand Army of the Republic faded from view. Firmly rooted in tradition by the end of the 19th century…
it was expanded to honor all those who died in service (rather than just the Civil War dead), and it was officially proclaimed a National Holiday in 1971 as part of the “Uniform Monday Holiday Act,” which moved the holiday to the last Monday in May.
The Lions Club Flag Project
As part of their ongoing service to the community, the Lions Club supervises their flag project, which involves placing flags in town on major holidays. For the past three years, the LEAP Center has assisted with that project, and while the LEAP Center plans no formal grave-visiting or flower-strewing, we have tried to ensure, as the Act originally hoped, that “no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”
And after planting some 250 flags as part of a community project, we took a selfie in front of Lee Jamison’s new mural, which is a good reflection of that community and its history. Interestingly, Brian Blalock, a Lion and a photographer, was with us as we posed in front of the mural, which features a rendering of a photo taken by Blalock (note the “Waving Sammy” on the mural).
Apart from engaging in an act of service, today’s volunteer activity was also poignant because it involved Chrissy’s last LEAP-related event in Huntsville. She is moving to Lubbock in a week to begin her law school journey, and we were happy to be part of another event with her, especially one in service to the community.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 
