Survey Results: How We Celebrate Memorial Day

In our Memorial Day email, We the Veterans asked you some very simple questions about Memorial Day, and we got some amazingly unique and interesting answers from you all. Let’s explore some of the answers we received.

Do you recognize, commemorate, or celebrate the Memorial Day holiday?

Over 93% of you told us that you celebrate Memorial Day most years, with 84% indicating every year. That wasn't a surprise. Alongside Independence Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving, Memorial is one of America’s more recognized patriotic holidays. However, we weren’t sure about how much you all associate Memorial Day with the military. 

Do you associate the Memorial Day holiday with the U.S. military?

One could be forgiven for thinking that Memorial Day is a holiday for backyard barbecues, mattress sales, baseball games, and swimming pool openings. Memorial Day traditionally marks the beginning of summer – a season full of good ole’ American fun! So, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that 87% of you view Memorial Day as primarily a military-related holiday. 

We recognize that the audience who receives We the Veterans emails, might not be representative of the entire American population, but that’s some pretty good numbers. In addition, 10% of respondents told us that while Memorial Day was related to the military, that wasn’t the primary way they viewed the holiday. We’ll accept that answer. We want everyone to feel free to celebrate the holiday in their own way. That said, to the six people who told us: “I don't believe Memorial Day is related to the military at all,” we’re going to politely and objectively disagree! 

What group(s) of people do you believe should be celebrated, honored, or commemorated on Memorial Day? 

OK. The questions are getting more complicated now. So we’re going to give our answer up front. We believe that – without a doubt – Memorial Day should be a holiday to honor any American service member who died in service to our nation in combat or in non-combat operations. We also believe that it’s worthwhile to include other veterans who passed away after their time in the service. And while we’re at it, there’s plenty of room to include the family members – spouses, children, parents – of deceased service members and veterans in our Memorial Day recognition. The holiday isn’t meant for them, per se, but they are closely attached to those for whom the holiday is intended. 

And great news! You all agree with us. Nearly nine in ten respondents said Memorial Day was meant for service members who died in combat, and 62% thought their spouses should be included. About two-thirds believe the holiday includes those who died while in service, but not in combat, and just under half lump in veterans who died after their time in uniform. 

One quarter of you consider Memorial Day to be a day to honor living service members and/or living veterans. And one-fifth include the spouses of service members and veterans. The answer here isn’t perfectly clear, but we prefer to honor living veterans on Veterans Day (November 11th) and to honor those serving in the armed forces on Armed Forces Day (the third Sunday in May). And for the families…they get a whole month! November is National Military Family Month. So wear purple to support military families. 

Here’s the upshot on all of it. We believe that deceased veterans should be memorialized on Memorial Day and living service members and veterans should be honored at other times. In fact, we think you should feel free to honor any of these men and women who served their country and their families and day, week, or month you choose! 

Just for fun, here are some of the additional answer we received to this question:

All who have served the U.S. Armed forces, from foreign translators to contractors and all who have dedicated their lives

Many non-military people have served our country and died for it. Yet we do not acknowledge them.

Police officers, firefighters, and EMS.

The men who signed the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights!!

None. It’s a waste of time.

At We the Veterans, we can’t say that we agree with all of these answers, but we want you all to know that you’ve been heard. Now, onto the short answer part of our survey. This is where it gets really fun! We asked “What does Memorial Day mean to you?” and “How do you recognize Memorial Day and why?” Here’s a sampling of our favorite answers. 

What does Memorial Day mean to you?

Lest we forget, originally this was known as “Decoration Day”. Yes, I do remember taking flowers to the cemetery to put on graves.

Remembrance of those military service members that gave the ultimate sacrifice to defend our Country and way of life.

Happy for the freedom veterans helped us have but sad for the deaths given for this freedom.

A lot of thinking back.

Sacrifice for the pursuit of free speech, free thought and expression. Remembrance of events that formed and shaped American independence.

To me, it is all about military members who didn’t come home. Those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country.

Hitting the road and BBQ.

Mostly memories of a parade in the town where I grew up.

Honor the fallen.

War avoidance.

You want to be patriotic? Vote! Get involved politically. Take a stand! 

Nothing.

Monday off.

Ok..we can’t argue with “Monday off,” and there were so many more great explanations. This was just a sampling. 

Serious talk for a moment. We’d be lying to you if we said we didn’t receive some hate speech amongst the answers – very few, but it was there. And we’d like to take this moment to disavow those thoughts and ideas. As an institution, We the Veterans honors the service and sacrifice of any person who was willing to put on a uniform and serve their country, and we hope you do too. 

How do you recognize Memorial Day and why?

I visit a cemetery and pray for our nation and our military.

Fly the flag. Parade. Put flags at the National Cemetery.

I have a very solemn day thinking of all the men and women who lost their lives.

I spend time with family and baseball games with grand kids and other families.

I lower my flag to half mast to show I honor the fallen.

I read and reflect on the Minutemen at Lexington and Concord; the Kentucky militia at the river Raisin; the 20th Maine at Gettysburg; casualties on San Juan, Pork Chop and Hamburger hills; the 29th Infantry Division on Omaha Beach and many more examples of our fellow Americans who put their own lives on the line to preserve and protect our democracy.

With a few drinks.

In solemn memory of those killed in our civil war

I think about their sacrifice. My service of 25 years is NOTHING compared to them.

BBQ! 

Nothing special.

Again, we could have printed 10x these amounts of answers. We saw a lot of cemetery visitors, flag fliers, and parade attendees. We love all of those activities. We also saw a fair share of beers and barbecues, and we think that sounds great, too. Mostly, we saw people taking the day to remember those who died in service to this nation. 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out this survey. We hope that by sharing some of the answers that others provided, we’ve given you a fuller picture of Memorial Day and what it means to Americans. There are no right answers (though there are some wrong answers), so we hope that you celebrate the holiday in the future in precisely the way it suits you!