Memorial Day History, Armed Forces, Holiday Cookouts, History Flight, Celebrating at Home, Battle Monuments

The History of Memorial Day (0:00:00) Happy Memorial Day! Or is it Decoration Day? Over the past two centuries, what first started as a day to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers has transformed into a memorial for all of the soldiers who have fought for our country. Surprisingly enough, this is not the only US holiday that has changed as time has gone on and our society has shifted. As we remember our brave veterans who fought to defend our freedom, we can also gain a better understanding of where this day came from and how its traditions have changed. Joining us today is Professor Matthew Mason, a history professor at Brigham Young University, here with us to discuss the origin of Memorial Day and how memory affects history. Armed Forces (0:15:51) In honor of Memorial Day today, we wanted to shine a light on our military veterans, service men and women. Denise Rohan is the former National Commander of the American Legion, the nation’s largest veteran’s service organization. She was also the first woman to lead the legion.  She joins us to talk about helping our veterans and troops.   Memorial Day Cookouts (0:33:07) Memorial Day feels like the beginning of summer. School is essentially over, the weather is starting to warm up, and we’ve got a wonderful holiday to commemorate. It’s the perfect time to get outside with your family and have a cookout, a Memorial Day tradition for many people. But what should you grill up this year? We want to help inspire your Memorial Day cookout so you can make it the best one yet. We’ve invited Cheryl Slocum to help give us some ideas. Cheryl is a James Beard Award-winning food writer, magazine editor, and recipe developer. History Flight (0:50:40) According to the US Department of Defense, there are still 72,597 Unites States servicemen who are unaccounted for, or MIA, from World War II. That’s over 72 thousand families who never received closure after their loved one didn’t return from war. Not to mention the missing soldiers from the all of the conflicts t