MEMORIAL DAY

The three-day weekend that heralds the start of summer is over, complete with sunburns, water-sogged camping gear and highway fatalities. And, yes, there were some observances of the reason for the holiday: Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday in May in order to provide an extended weekend for the nation's workers.

From the years just after the Civil War to just a few years ago, Memorial Day was observed on today, May 30. In 1971 the federal observance was changed to the last Monday in May.

The holiday started as a time to remember those who died in the bloody battles of the Civil War. Many more Americans have given their lives on behalf of the nation since then, and they are all honored on this special day.

For many Americans, Memorial Day also is a time to visit cemeteries where loved ones are buried and to place special flower arrangements on the graves. In this way, the peony has become closely associated with Memorial Day, mainly because the magnificent blossoms are generally in large supply in yards and flower gardens at this time of year.

On this Memorial Day, those who have fallen in battle in order to preserve America's democracy are remembered with the profound gratitude of a nation whose models of freedom and liberty are unparalleled in a turbulent world.