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5.23.26 - Part 2 · Children's Hour

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  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to radioized Children's Story Hours. As a reminder,
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  Radio Eye is a reading service intended for people who
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  are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
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  to read printed material. Today we will be reading about
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  Memorial Day. Your reader today is Patty. We're going to
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  start with the book called Simply Memorial Day. The author
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  of the book is Mere Time then An Surrey. It
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  was published by Heinman Library in nineteen ninety nine. A
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  day for remembering Memorial Day is the last Monday in May.
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  Flowers are blooming, the school year will be over soon.
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  It's a fine day for outdoor fund. But there is
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  another side to Memorial Day. This holiday is about reading.
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  On this day we remember people who died in wars.
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  Many Americans put flags and flowers on graves of people
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  who gave their lives for our country. This family lost
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  a loved one in the Vietnam War. He died in
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  nineteen seventy. There is a photograph here of a young
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  woman and a small child placing flags in a cemetery
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  near a gravestone. Continuing, this family lost someone in World
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  War II. They lost him in nineteen forty four. They
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  still decorate his grave on Memorial Day. It is an
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  old custom. Here the illustration shows in another cemetery of
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  an old gravestone and two people there decorating with flowers.
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  The roots of a holiday Memorial Day goes back to
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  the Civil War. That was the biggest war ever fought
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  on US soil. The Civil War ended in eighteen sixty five.
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  In the Civil War, Americans fought Americans. Our country had
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  split in two, the North fought the South. The fight
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  was about slavery. Here we have a photograph of a
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  Union or Northern soldier in his uniform and another photograph
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  of a Confederate or Southern soldier in his uniform. And
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  of course the photos are in black and white, both
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  young men. Continuing of freedom and slavery. The United States
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  was founded as a land of freedom, but there was
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  a problem from the start. Some people in America were slaves.
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  Slavery was allowed in the southern states. The South had
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  big farms, and on those farms slaves did most of
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  the work. Slavery was against the law in the North.
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  There most people felt slavery was wrong. They wanted to
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  ban it in all states. Every time a new state
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  joined the country, the question came up. Should slavery be
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  allowed here? Fights broke out over the question. In eighteen sixty,
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  the Southern States tried to leave the United States. They
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  said they were a new country. They bombed a US fort.
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  Abraham Lincoln was president then. He said our country was
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  a union. No state had a right to split away.
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  He sent armies to fight the rebels the Battle of Gettysburg.
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  The South had a great general named Robert E. Lee.
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  Lee drove the Union armies back then he invaded the North.
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  A big battle took place near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It lasted
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  three days. More than forty three thousand men died or
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  were hurt. Lee's army was driven south again. President Lincoln
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  went to Gettysburg. He gave a speech to honor the dead.
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  He explained what the men had died for. Lincoln said
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  that the United States stood for a great idea, every
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  person is born equal and free. If the country split,
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  he said, this idea would die. There's an illustration here
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  on the opposite page that shows President Abraham Lincoln standing
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  up on a stage giving a speech, and behind him
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  is of one of the American flags flying proudly. The
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  tide turns after the battle of Gettysburg. The North found
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  a great general too. His name was Ulysses S. Grant.
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  He began wearing down the rebels. At last, Lee gave up.
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  The United States would stay together as one country, and
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  no one in this country would be a slave. There's
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  an illustration here that shows General Robert E. Lee surrendering
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  to General Grant, ending the Civil War. And they are
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  standing at a table inside a room, and there are
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  several other men with them, each dressed in the Union
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  Army uniforms and the Southern Army healing the wounds. But
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  how could people in the North and South be friends again?
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  The war had left so many people hurt, It had
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  left so much hate. One day, a group of women
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  went to a cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi. Soldiers from both
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  the North and South were buried there. The women did
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  something wonderful. The women put flowers on the soldiers' graves.
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  They didn't ask which side they thought, for they honored
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  all soldiers. People in other towns copied this idea, and
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  that is how Memorial Day began. In nineteen forty eight,
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  it became a national holiday, Memorial Day in our time,
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  Memorial Day now honors all who have died in our
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  country's wars. There's a big ceremony at the National Cemetery
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  in Arlington, Virginia. Small ceremonies take place across the country.
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  People put flowers and tiny flags on graves. Some mourned
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  in private. But Memorial Day is not just a sad time.
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  Many towns have festivals on this day. Here is the
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  big festival at Bolbirg, Pennsylvania. That the festivals like these
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  mixed joy with sadness. They remind us of a good thing.
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  On this day in May, spring and summer always come again.
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  The photograph here is of the big Festival in Boldburg, Pennsylvania,
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  and it looks like they are re enacting a battle
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  from the Civil War. Women are dressed in period costumes,
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  long full skirts, and men have Civil War uniforms on
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  and they are standing in front of a cannon. At
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  the back of the book, there are some important dates
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  listed that help reinforce Memorial Day. Seventeen seventy six in
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  the United States is founded eighteen sixty Carolina South Carolina
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  quits the Union eighteen sixty one. The Civil War begins
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  eighteen sixty three. The Battle of Gettysburg eighteen sixty four.
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  Ulysses S. Grant takes charge of Union Army. Eighteen sixty one.
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  The Civil War ends eighteen sixty six. Women decorate graves
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  in Columbus, Mississippi. Nineteen forty five. World War Two ends
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  nineteen forty eight. Memorial Day is declared a national holiday.
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  Nineteen seventy five, The Vietnam War ends. This book also
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  has a glossary in the back, and that's a little
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  dictionary that has words that were used in our particular book.
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  The first word is banned. That means to make something
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  against the law. Ceremony means special activities to honor someone
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  or some thing. Custom things people always do on special
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  days or for certain events. Discover that means to find
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  something before anyone else. Founded means set up something new,
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  such as a country. Honor means to show respect for
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  someone inva did means enter the land or country by
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  force to take over. Mourned to feel or show sadness
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  about a loss. Rebels those who fight against their government.
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  Slaves people who are owned by and work for other people.
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  Slavery means to use people as slaves. Surrenders means gives up,
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  and union work group of many parts that work together
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  or Northern States during the Civil War. Now that we've
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  learned a little bit about Memorial Day, I have another
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  book to share with you. It's called Let's Celebrate Memorial Day.
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  This book was written by Barbara de Rubertus and it
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  was published by the King Prince in twenty sixteen. A
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  very special holiday is celebrated on the last Monday in May,
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  Memorial Day. It is the day we honor all the
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  brave men and women in our armed forces who died
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  while fighting to protect our country, our freedoms, and us.
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  How did this important holiday become into being in America?
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  The photograph here shows a group of Boy Scouts in
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  their Scout muiforms marching in a parade, and they're all
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  carrying flags. Continue how Memorial Day began? From eighteen sixty
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  one to eighteen sixty five, the American Civil War was fought.
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  The Northern States did not want to continue allowing slavery,
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  but eleven Southern states did. The Southern States withdrew from
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  the United States and formed a new country, the Confederate
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  States of America. President Abraham Lincoln refused to recognize this
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  new country, so the North Union soldiers and the South's
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  Confederate soldiers went to war. When the war ended, the
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  United States was united again, and slavery would soon be ended.
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  But over half a million soldiers had died fighting on
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  the two sides of the war, far more soldiers than
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  had died in any other American war. The whole country
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  grieved during and after the Civil War. Graves of fallen
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  soldiers on both sides were decorated in honor of their sacrifices.
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  In eighteen sixty eight, General John Logan issued a proclamation
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  that Decoration Day should be held on May thirtieth every year.
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  He chose that date because flowers would be in bloom
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  and could be used to decorate the graves of all
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  those who had died in the Civil War. A large
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  observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington,
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  d c. Speeches were given, followed by people placing flowers
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  on both Union and Confederate graves while singing hymns and
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  saying prayers. The annual ceremony at Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
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  also began in eighteen sixty eight. Gettysburg was the scene
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  of the Civil War's most famous battle, seven thousand soldiers die,
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  more than in any other battle. In July nineteen thirteen,
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  veterans of the Union and Confederate armies gathered in Gettysburg
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  to mark the fiftieth anniversary of this battle. It was
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  called a Blue Gray Reunion because the Union soldiers wore
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  blue and the Confederate uniforms were gray. There were speeches, parades,
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  and reenactments of the battle. Here there is a photograph
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  of that reenactment in nineteen thirteen. This gathering of Union
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  and Confederate Army soldiers. They are here standing under flag,
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  and they have one person has a drum, and they're
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  all standing there posing for the photograph there in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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  Decoration Day changes to Memorial Day. Decoration Day gradually became
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  known as Memorial Day, a name first used in eighteen
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  eighty two. After the end of the First World War
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  in nineteen eighteen, the holiday also changed from honoring only
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  those who died in the Civil War, it now honored
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  members of the military who died in any American war.
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  In nineteen forty eight, members of the Army's Third Inventory
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  began a flag in tradition at Arlington National Cemetery Memorial Day,
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  they placed flags on the graves of all the service
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  members buried there, now more than three hundred thousand veterans. Groups,
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  Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and other groups across Americas
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  also placed flags on service members' graves for this holiday.
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  Memorial Day became the official name of the holiday in
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  nineteen sixty seven. A photograph here shows many Boy Scouts
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  in Arlington National Cemetery placing small flags around the two stones.
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  National Holiday Act of nineteen seventy one. In nineteen seventy one,
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  Congress moved to Memorial Day from May thirtieth to the
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  last Monday in d Many people feel this change led
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  to viewing the new three day weekend as the unofficial
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  beginning of summer, so people often celebrate with picnics and
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  camping trips, swimming pools, open stores, hold Memorial Days safe.
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  With so much going on, people sometimes forget the real
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  reason for the holiday. National Moment of Remembrance. In two thousand,
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  Congress passed a resolution to help restore the true meaning
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  of Memorial Day. The National Moment of Remembrance invites all
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  Americans to stop for a moment of silence at exactly
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  three pm local time on Memorial Day. During this moment
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  of silence, we are asked to remember all those who
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  died defending our country's freedoms. This is one way we
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  can put the memorial back in Memorial Day Poppies, a
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  Canadian soldier in the First World War was inspired to
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  write the poem in Flanders Fields when he saw write
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  red poppies blooming on the graves of soldiers buried there.
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  After reading this poem, an American teacher named Moyna Michael
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  decided to wear a poppy on Memorial Day to honor
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  those who had died in that war. She sold copies
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  to her friends and gave money to help vetter. Here
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  we have a photograph of red poppies blooming in a
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  large field, blue sky above, and beautiful red poppies blooming
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  all around continuing. Soon afterward, both the American Legion and
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  the Veterans of Foreign Wars began to give away coppies
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  made by disabled veterans. Donations from people receiving the poppies
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  were given to veterans in need of health. Today, the
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  poppies are most often given away on or near Memorial Days.
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  In Veterans Day, the poppy has become a symbol of
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  honoring the dead and helping the living. The photograph here
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  shows two women. They are each wearing dark blue vests
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  and they have a large poppy pinned to the upper
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  left shoulder. They're holding little paper poppies that they are
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  giving to others who drop by to talk to them.
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  Memorials for those who died in wars and conflicts. Beautiful
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  memorials have been built to honor those who died fighting
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  for our country. It is our way of making sure
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  their sacrifices are not forgotten, and it is comforting for
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  many of the families and friends of those who died
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  to see tributes honoring their loved ones. All of these
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  memorials remind us of our history and of the price
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  of freedom. Civil War eighteen sixty one to eighteen sixty five.
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  On the anniversary of President Lincoln's most famous speech, the
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  Gettysburg Address, volunteers in period clothing light candles at Gettysburg
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  National Cemetery. Illuminaria honors every soldier who died at Gettysburg.
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  The photograph here is of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. There
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  are flags placed all around and there are lighted luminarias,
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  and it's dark, so you can tell that all of
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  these are beautifully lit with a candle inside. An illuminaria
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  is like a paper bag shaped with a candle on
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  the inside, glowing brightly. The First World War nineteen seventeen
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  to nineteen eighteen. The National World One War One Museum
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  and More Oil is in Kansas City, Missouri. In nineteen
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  twenty six, more than one hundred fifty thousand people gathered
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  to see the Liberty Memorial Tower, dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge.
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  Museum exhibits are below the Memorial Tower and in buildings
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  on either side. At night, steam rises from the top
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  of the tower. Red lights make the steam look like fire.
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  The Second World War nineteen forty one to nineteen forty five.
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  The World War II Memorial is in Washington, d C.
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  A wall containing more than four thousand gold stars pays
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  tribute to the four hundred thousand American who died in
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  this war. Granite columns representing the states and territory form
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  two half circles around the rainbow pool. Two pavilions represent
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  the Atlantic and Pacific fronts on which American forces ought
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  The photograph here shows this World War two Memorial in Washington,
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  d C. With the fountain and the granite pillars all
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  around and the wall with the gold stars the Korean
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  Consult nineteen fifty to nineteen fifty three. The Korean War
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  Veterans Memorial in Washington, d C. Contains a patrol squad
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  nineteen stainless steel statues of soldiers walking through a field.
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  A black granite wall display has over two thousand, four
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  hundred images of the land, sea, and air troops who
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  supported the foot soldiers. One part of the granite wall
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  is inscribed freedom is Not Free. The Vietnam Conflict nineteen
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  fifty five to nineteen seventy five. The v shape Vietnam
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  Veterans Memorial is also in Washington, d C. The wall
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  is polished black and granite with a mirror like surface.
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  On it are listed the names of the more than
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  fifty eight thousand Americans who died or went missing in
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  the Vietnam War. The photograph here shows the Vietnam Veterans
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  Memorial and many people gathered around this wall looking at it.
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  Middle East and Worldwide Conflicts nineteen seventy nine to the President.
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  The Middle East Conflict's War Memorial is in Marseille, Illinois.
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  The wall of granite panels was built to honor the
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  thousands of women and men in our armed forces who
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  have died in worldwide conflicts since nineteen seventy nine. Every year,
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  the names of the women and men who have died
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  during the previous year are etched into the granite slabs
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  right after Memorial Day. Family members who visit war memorials
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  often leave metals, flowers, or photographs near the names of
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  their loved ones. Each name inscribed on a wall is
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  someone's son or daughter. It may also be some one
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  sister of brother, or husband or wife, or mother or father.
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  On Memorial Day, we remember those who died as well
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  as those who must carry on without them. The National
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  Memorial Day Concert. The National Memorial Day Concert takes place
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  on the lawn of the United States Capitol Building on
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  the Sunday evening before Memorial Day. Patriotic music is performed
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  and tribute is paid to the men and women who
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  have given their lives for our country. The concert is
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  broadcast on both radio and television. The American Veterans Disabled
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  for Life Memorial in twenty fifteen, the National Memorial Day
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  Concert honored not only those who have died, but also
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  those who survived with permanent disability. The new American Veterans
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  Disabled for Life Memorial is dedicated to those courageous heroes
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  and the challenges they and their families must face every day.
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  The memorial includes a star shaped fountain with an eternal
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  flame in the center. Three walls of green glass tell
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  stories of disabled soldiers and their images in words. When
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  the flag is raised on Memorial Day morning, it is
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  first raised to the top of the staff, then it
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  is slowly lowered to half staff in honor of the
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  men and women who have given their lives serving our country.
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  At noon, the flag is again raised to full staff
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  as a reminder that we must continue to defend our freedoms.
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  The Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begins at
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  eleven a m flags will have been placed on more
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  than three hundred thousand graves. A reflaying ceremony and concert
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  are held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At
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  twelve noon, the Rolling Thunder, a motorcycle rally, begins. The
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  thousands of writers who take part are demonstrating their support
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  for improving veteran benefits. There are thousands of small parades
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  and ceremonies held in the cities and states across the
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  United States, and the National Moment of Remembrance is observed
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  at three p m. This concludes the Story Hour for
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  to day. Please join us next time as we will
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  read more stories, fables and fairy tales. And thank you
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  for listening, and please stay tuned for continued programming on
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  Radio I