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A Daughter of the Regiment - GAR - Memorial or Decoration Day - vintage postcard

A Daughter of the Regiment - GAR - Memorial or Decoration Day vintage postcard

In times past, it was traditional to send colorful postcards in celebration of the various holidays or celebrated events. This vintage postcard is an early 1900's example of a card for Decoration Day, now more commonly known as Memorial Day. Labeled as "A Daughter of the Regiment", it pictures a young woman in a soldier's uniform. The insignia on the hat indicates GAR which is the Grand Army of the Republic or commonly referred to simply as the Union Army.

Celebrations of Decoration Day began after the Civil War and until modern times was normally observed on May 30 of each year. This was specifically intended as a time of remembering and honoring those who had died in service while Veterans Day (formerly known as Armistice Day) celebrated on November 11 is in honor of all of those who had served in the military. The name of Decoration Day was officially changed to Memorial Day in 1967 and the date of observance was changed in 1971 on the federal level from May 30 to the last Monday in May. Decoration Day / Memorial Day was originally intended to be a memorial to the more than one million men and women who have died in military service for their country. In recent years it has become, for most, simply a three day holiday weekend.

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