blivet radio
The Radio weblog of Hal Rager

Saturday, May 25, 2002

Memorial Day [United States Holiday] Memorial Day stuff from the other place. The Origins of Memorial Day [Veteran's Administration] "Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of former Union soldiers and sailors - the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) - established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The cemetery already held the remains of 20,000 Union dead and several hundred Confederate dead. The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant and other Washington officials presided. After speeches, children from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns." (more) History of Memorial Day [History Channel] U.S. Memorial Day History and Information on U.S. War Memorials [usmemorialday.org] "kim komando: websites honoring the war dead, for memorial day weekend." [garret] 7:34:54 PM    comment   trackback []

Leaky valve could delay shuttle mission "A leaking valve in a cooling system on board shuttle Endeavour could delay its launch to the International Space Station, Spaceflight Now reported late Friday. Technicians were expected to check out a water spray boiler (WSB) located in the rear of Endeavour Friday night after engineers noticed that the unit did not work as quickly as expected. A leak in one or more valves in the WSB, used to cool the shuttle's auxiliary power units, is suspected." [spacetoday.net] Hopefully this will not interfere with Susan's plans to watch the launch in person. 7:14:51 AM    comment   trackback []