A Day of Remembrance

May 27, 2002

A Universal Language
Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May, is a day when Americans pause to remember those who gave their lives during military service. Other countries around the world also set aside special days to honor their war dead. No matter how different countries may seem, no matter what conflicts drive their governments to declare war, people of various cultures honor their war dead in similar ways. To express grief and pay respect to veterans, the people of the world use sound and silence, flowers and stones, words and images. We make wreaths and statues; we write poems and music.

One piece of music that is often played to honor America's war dead is the bugle call, "Taps." The piece was composed during the Civil War by General Daniel Butterfield, whose Union Army unit suffered many losses during the Seven Day's Battle in Virginia in 1862. Although Butterfield could not write music, he hummed a melody to his aide, who translated it into musical notes. The call, which marked the end of the soldiers' day, was also intended to honor the fallen soldiers. "Taps" is now sounded at funerals and memorial services of those who served in the United States military.

These are the words to "Taps." Often, a shorter version, shown here in bold, is played:

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well, safely rest. God is nigh.

A similar bugle call known as the "Last Post" is used in the British Army and the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).

You can listen to a short version of "Taps" at ScoutSongs.com. (Requires RealPlayer.)

Listen to the "Last Post" at the Australian War Memorial Web site. (Requires QuickTime.)

How are "Taps" and the "Last Post" similar? How are they different? How did you feel while you listened to both pieces of music?

Compose your own lyrics about what Memorial Day means to you.

The Power of Silence
Many days of remembrance around the world are punctuated by periods of silence. During these periods, observers typically pray or contemplate the significance of the day. On Israel's Memorial Day, sirens signal citizens to stop whatever they are doing and stand in silence for two minutes. Even traffic comes to a standstill as people get out of their cars to stand silently. This solemn day of remembrance is held the day before Israel's Independence Day, a more exuberant day of celebration, similar to America's Independence Day holiday. The back-to-back timing of these two holidays helps citizens better appreciate the significance of both.

In recent months, violence has been escalating in Israel and Palestine. CNN Student News has an excellent mini Web site to explain the Middle East conflict.

Numerous countries celebrate Armistice Day on November 11, the day World War I ended in 1918. Canadians and Australians (who renamed the day Remembrance Day) are asked by their governments to pause for two minutes of silence beginning at 11 a.m., the time that peace went into effect. In this country, Armistice Day was renamed Veteran's Day and is celebrated on the second Monday in November.

The Power of Words
On Memorial Day, many people perform gestures of remembrance such as visiting war memorials, laying wreaths or flowers on graves, observing a moment or two of silence, and maybe watching a parade. Still others may feel a need to communicate their thoughts to those who they lost during the war. They write their loved ones letters.

Watch a video of actress Christine Lahti reading a letter from a mother who lost her son in wartime.

CNN.com presents "A soldier's diary." Watch and listen to the videotaped "letters" Max Cleland sent to his parents from Vietnam before losing his legs and his right arm in a grenade explosion. Cleland went on to become a U.S. senator.

Read about the importance of mail during the Vietnam War.

Letters have always been important to soldiers. Novelist and Vietnam Veteran Tim O'Brien wrote a book called The Things They Carried. The book's main character explains that soldiers in Vietnam carried many items to help them survive, including extra clothing, malaria tablets, mine detectors, and guns. Considering that they had to carry all their supplies, minimizing their loads was important. Still, there were some "extras" that many soldiers would never discard. These included Bibles and letters from home. Letters were a way for soldiers to stay connected to their lives in America.

Read extracts from different war letters on the PBS Web site, "War Letters."

Listen to some war letters on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation.

Visit "Letters Home from Vietnam," a Web site featuring the letters of Corporal Michael Alan McAninch, who died in the war in 1969.


		USS Indianapolis Xcursion Investigate what happened to the doomed World War II battleship with this Internet field trip from Riverdeep.

		Remembering the Holocaust On the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember how the Jewish people of Europe suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

		Vietnam War Xcursion Understand the social and emotional impact of this divisive war.

		American Revolution Xcursion Learn about the war that lead to the birth of a nation.