Memorial Day Weekend 2024: Parades, Services In Metro Detroit

METRO DETROIT — There are numerous Memorial Day services and parades happening around metro Detroit that are part of a nearly 160-year tradition that pays tribute to military personnel who lost their lives in service to their country.

As the observance has changed over the years, many families also use Memorial Day as an occasion to visit metro Detroit cemeteries and leave flowers at the graves of family members, regardless of whether they served in the military.

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in metro Detroit. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

Macomb County

• Clinton Township Annual Memorial Day Service at Resurrection Cemetery, 18201 Clinton River Road, May 27
• St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade, Along Harper Avenue, from 9 Mile Road to 11 Mile Road, May 26
• Sterling Heights Memorial Day Parade, 40555 Utica Road, Sterling Heights, May 27

Oakland County

• Farmington Memorial Day Parade, along Grand River Avenue, between Orchard Lake Road and downtown Farmington, May 27
  
• Greater Rochester Heritage Days Festival, at 400 Sixth St., Rochester (Rochester Municipal Park) on May 25-26
• Royal Oak Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony, Downtown Royal Oak areas, May 27

Wayne County

• Dearborn Memorial Day Parade, Downtown Dearborn areas, May 27
• Grosse Pointe Memorial Day Service, at 32 Lake Shore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms (Grosse Pointe War Memorial), May 27
• Northville Memorial Parade, Downtown Northville areas, May 27

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.