LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 150th Anniversary of Memorial
Day, Monday, May 30, 2016, in the State of New York

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who have
fallen in battle to preserve beliefs, ideals and principles upheld by
these United States, do so profoundly strengthen our shared commitment
to the exercise of freedom; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such duty and fully in accord with its long-
standing traditions, it is the intent of this Legislative Body to
commemorate Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2016, in the State of New
York; and
WHEREAS, Monday, May 30, 2016, will be solemnly marked throughout the
United States of America as Memorial Day, a day of national mourning for
those Americans who gave their lives in the defense of their country, in
times of war, and times of peace, in police actions and minor skirmish-
es, in peacekeeping roles and missions to foreign lands to uphold the
cherished principles of liberty and democracy, upon which the Republic
was founded; and
WHEREAS, A legacy of the Civil War, Memorial Day is a timeless holi-
day; and
WHEREAS, New York State was the first State to formally recognize
Memorial Day, then known as Decoration Day, as a holiday to honor our
fallen veterans; Memorial Day is not a celebration, but rather a day of
taking time out for remembrance as characterized by our ancestors, who
observed the day by taking time out to remember family members and
neighbors who lost their lives in the Civil War that divided our nation;
and
WHEREAS, In commemorating May 30, 2016, Memorial Day, this Legislative
Body also pays homage to the more than 576,000 Americans who, during 10
major wars, have made the supreme sacrifice for their country; from
Lexington and Concord to Iwo Jima; from Yorktown to Gettysburg; from New
Orleans to San Juan Hill; from Antietam to Omaha Beach; from Inchon to
Ardennes, as well as all the fields of battle where men and women have
fallen for the cause of our freedom; and
WHEREAS, This Memorial Day we will also remember those who have served
in the U.S. Armed Forces and who have died as the result of the war on
terrorism and the liberation of all people who seek and believe in free-
dom, liberty and human rights; and
WHEREAS, For decades, veterans organizations have solicited contrib-
utions for poppies, handmade by hospitalized veterans, worn to mark
America's war dead; the use of the poppy as a Memorial Day custom has
roots in the poem "In Flander's Field," written to salute those killed
during World War I; the proceeds of the sale are put into funds adminis-
tered by individual veterans posts to help veterans; and
WHEREAS, We, the duly elected members of this Legislative Body, can
mark this solemn occasion with no greater remembrance than the words of
the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, when he dedicated the National
Cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863: "We ... have come to dedi-
cate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who
here gave their lives that this nation might live. It is altogether
fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense we
cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consec-
rated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will
little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget
what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so

nobly advanced. It is rather for us, to be dedicated to the great tasks
remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased
devotion to the cause for which they gave the full measure of devotion;
that we here last highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in
vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom,
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall
not perish from the earth."; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2016, in the State of New
York, gratefully acknowledging all those who have come before us and
who, seeing their duty, have served this country so valiantly and honor-
ably when called, preserving our freedom, our liberty and our safety,
placing themselves in harm's way to keep America safe; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to esteemed Veterans organizations of New York State.