Portrait of a Soldier

Ellen Susan is a history buff. After relocating to Savannah from New Jersey with her husband, she got the idea to produce an exhibit of soldier portraits when she began noticing the number of uniformed men and women in the Savannah area. She started wondering about the person was like and what their life is like. Ellen wanted others to the same rather than just seeing people in uniforms. You can check out her website and the portraits here.

http://www.soldierportraits.com/photographs.html



A bit of history about Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day)

While there are many stories as to its actual beginnings, there is evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War; a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966, it is difficult to prove the actual origins of the day.

Memorial day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed on May 30th, 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.


We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

A poem by Moina Michael in 1915