The first Memorial Day was called Deoration Day and was observed in 1868. It was a day set aside to honor the 600,000 U.S. men and women who died in the Civil War. Millions more have served our country and many have made the ultimate sacrifice. Here are some photos to remind you the true meaning of Memorial Day.Sergeant Kyle J. White was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Aranas, Afghanistan in 2007 by President Obama during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on May 13, 2014.
A small American flag was placed in front of over 220,000 graves for Memorial Day at the Arlington National Cemetery by the Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.
Dave Rowe kisses the headstone of his son, Army Sgt. Michael D. Rowe while comforting Rowe’s pregnant widow, Rebecca Rowe. Sgt. Rowe,23, was killed on March 28, 2006, after a roadside bomb detonated near his humvee in Rutbah, Iraq.
Carlos Cruz and his son, Gabrielle, arrive to help straighten the flags at the headstones of fallen soldiers at the Los Angeles National Cemetery.
Arthur Perciasepe stops at his brother Dominic’s headstone at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida.
Shannon Day volunteered to plant some of the 37,000 flags at the Boston Common in memory of every fallen service member from the Revolutionary War to present.
U.S. Army Sgt. Chantel Gonzalez play Taps in the rain during a Memorial Day ceremony at the Sumner Cemetery in Puyallup, Washington.
Army honor guard members fold the American flag that draped the casket containing the remains of Army Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Baysore, Jr., during burial service at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Staff Sgt. Baysore, Jr., 31, of Milton, Pa., died Sept. 26, in Paktya Province, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.
Steven Woods grieves as he receives a flag during a group burial service for his father Army Staff Sgt. Lawrence Woods, and Air Force Capt. Valmore W. Bourque, Air Force 1st Lt. Robert G. Armstrong, Air Force Staff Sgt. Ernest J. Halvorson, Air Force Staff Sgt. Theodore B. Phillips, Air Force Airman 1st Class Eugene Richardson, Army Pfc. Charles P. Sparks, Friday, March 21, 2014, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The seven service members, along with 1st Lt. Edward J. Krukowiski, were aboard a C-123 Provider aircraft that crashed on Oct. 24, 1964, when it was struck by enemy fire while resupplying the U.S. Special Forces camp at Bu Prang, Vietnam.
A U.S. Navy dog handler and his dog visit the War Dog Memorial in Guam.
Christian Golczynski receives the flag for his father, Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski, who was killed during his second tour to Iraq.
86-year-old World War I veteran, Joseph Ambrose, sits and watches the parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He is holding the flag that covered the casket of his son, who was killed in the Korean War.
