Northland Veteran Reflects on Memorial Day Meaning

Coffee Conversation: Memorial Day

DULUTH, Minn. – Memorial Day is often thought of as the unofficial start to Summer, but in reality, the day holds a somber tone.

It’s a day set aside to honor and remember the men and women who died serving the United States of America.

The day originated in 1868 and became a legal holiday in Minnesota in 1889.

For this week’s Coffee Conversation, Duluth Honor Guard Captain John Marshall stopped by FOX 21 to talk about this important day.

Marshall says, “every day is Memorial Day for all of us who have experienced war and there’s been such a societal shift and kind of a disconnect for what Memorial Day really is and what really it stands for. Like I said, not a day goes by that I don’t think about those that have fallen and my service to the country and it’s important that we remind people of the real intent of what Memorial Day is.”

A Veterans Cemetery is currently being created in Pike Lake.

It will be done in five phases and is expected to be completed by June or July of 2018.