<P> In 1868 , copying a southern annual observance , General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic , an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur , Illinois , established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers . By the 20th century , various Union and Confederate memorial traditions , celebrated on different days , merged , and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service . </P>
<P> In 1868 , copying a southern annual observance , General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic , an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur , Illinois , established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers . By the 20th century , various Union and Confederate memorial traditions , celebrated on different days , merged , and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service . </P>
the u.s. holiday that eventually became memorial day was first known as what
the u.s. holiday that eventually became memorial day was first known as what
Decoration Day
Decoration Day