Teaching the meaning of Memorial Day to your children can be tricky. It's easy to get lost in the rush of picnics, parades and fun during what many see as the unofficial start to summer. However, communities all around the United States will hold celebrations to pay respect and remembrance to those who have died serving our country. These events can be a wonderful way to teach your children about the true meaning of Memorial Day.
Memorial Day events in Wheaton, IL and surrounding towns
Glen Ellyn Memorial Day Program at Lake Ellyn
Glendale Heights Memorial Day Ceremony
Winfield Memorial Day Ceremony
Lisle Memorial Day Parade & Remembrance Ceremony
Can't make it to an event on Monday?
Tour a local historic site or a soldiers' memorial for a personal look at the sacrifices made by our servicemen. Decorate the graves of soldiers with flags or flowers.
📍 Nearby historical sites, memorials, & interesting places to explore related to US veterans + war history:
- Grand Army of the Republic Military Museum - Aurora
- Chicagoland Veterans Campus - Addison
- First Division Museum at Cantigny - Wheaton
- Veterans of Foreign Wars 6791 - West Chicago
- DuPage County Veterans Memorial - Wheaton
- Illinois Aviation Museum - Bolingbrook
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Did you know...
- The Grand Army of the Republic began decorating the graves of fallen service members with flowers in May 1868, which was then known as "Decoration Day."
- In 1971 Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday, to be observed on the last Monday in May, moving it from the static date of May 30, in order to create a 3-day weekend.
- On the Thursday before Memorial Day, small American flags are placed at each of the 400,000+ gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery and other cemeteries nationwide.
- To encourage more people to observe Memorial Day, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act in 2000, which asks people to stop what they are doing at 3 p.m. local time and observe a minute of silence to honor those who lost their lives defending the country.
- On Memorial Day, the flag should first be raised to the top of the staff, then slowly lowered to half-staff, until noon when it should be raised to the top of the staff for the rest of the day.
- Red poppies are considered the Memorial Day flower. It's referenced in the poem "In Flanders Fields." and refers to the fields of poppies growing among soldiers' graves during WWI.
"We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them." ~Francis A. Walker
