Remember the Day

Today we celebrate (although I'm not sure celebrate is quite the right word) Memorial Day.  As we are out and about, we should take a moment to remember why we have this day.

 Memorial Day originally came out as a dedication to the Civil War.  It started as Decoration Day in the North in 1868 and Memorial Day in the South in 1866.  As time passed, it eventually became dedicated to all military personnel who have passed on.

 This particular statue is in the graveyard in Ypsilanti.

 A closeup of his face.

 I don't remember if I noticed the last time I took pictures, but there are a few military style gravestones near that statue.  This person fought in the Spanish-American War.

The 14th Michigan Infantry Regiment is one of a couple of regiments that was mustered out of Ypsilanti.  This unit participated in the siege of Corinth, Miss and Atlanta.  It was mustered out in 1865.

 The 27th Infantry Regiment is another unit that mustered in Ypsilanti.    It fought in Vicksburg, the Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg and was part of the Appomattox Campaign.  Over the course of the war, 325 men were lost in combat and another 207 men died of disease.  I'm guessing that this was an unidentified soldier.

 And another one.

 I think this may have been another unit mustered in Ypsilanti.

As I was taking pictures, this guy came by to take pictures of this headstone.  It turns out that this was his grandpa.  As I did the math, it looks like he would have been a teenager when he joined World War II.