This Memorial Day, many will celebrate by visiting the grave of a beloved ancestor and decorating it with flowers, an American flag or two, and perhaps even a decorative pinwheel.
The day of remembrance for the dead was made a federal holiday in 1971, but the day’s origins are found more than a century before it was recognized uniformly as a nation.
While Memorial Day has morphed into a day where many Americans honor all of their deceased ancestors, it is a patriotic holiday first.
“This is a holy day. This is a day of remembrance,” Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said at a Memorial Day service honoring veterans in 2025. “It’s a day of deep gratitude and reflection. It’s also a day of celebration because what we have been given is so dear it must be remembered and it must be celebrated.”
Deriving its roots in the Civil War, the day of remembrance was originally known as Decoration Day, and the first celebration likely occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, with 10,000 formerly enslaved people and white missionaries marching around a track. The 1865 celebration decorated soldiers’ graves with flowers.
It wasn’t until a few years later in 1868, that Gen. John Logan declared May 30 as a designated day to decorate “the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
Later the celebration date was changed to the last Monday in May.
Historians say Brevet Lt. Col. Edmund Burke Whitman, who is responsible for creating important mortuary records for Union soldiers and determining national cemeteries, highlighted the importance of honoring those who gave all.
“That Nation which respects and honors its dead shall ever be respected and honored itself,” he said, per U.S. Department of Affairs.
The holiday started to honor deaths in the Civil War, but as the U.S. got involved in more conflicts the day grew to include fallen soldiers from those wars as well, most significantly during World War II, which saw 405,399 American deaths.
In respect to the Utahns who participated and sometimes gave their lives in these conflicts, the following is a list of conflicts that saw participation from Utah soldiers in some degree or fashion, ranging from the Mexican-American War to the U.S. war on terror following the attacks of 9/11.
Mormon Battalion
Fulfilling the U.S. vision of Manifest Destiny, the strong belief that the country should stretch from one sea to the other, President James Polk started war with its neighboring country to the south in the Mexican-American War in 1846. The two-year clash resulted in the U.S. securing a large chunk of land stretching from parts of Kansas to California.
During the war, a group of Latter-day Saints, who became known collectively as the “Mormon Battalion,” were recruited to assist the U.S. Army by Capt. James Allen. The 500 volunteers were given $42 each, which many left with their families who were trekking west following unrest in Nauvoo, Illinois.
Starting in July, 1846, the group marched 2,000 miles to San Diego and never participated in combat, though 20 members died due to health issues, accidents and privations, a fact sheet from the Church Newsroom reads. Following a discharge in July, 1847, some reenlisted until the end of the war in February, 1848.
A lone Civil War soldier
While no Civil War battles were fought in Utah Territory, America’s bloodiest war (estimated 620,000 casualties) did see some participation from Utahns.
In 1862, Brigham Young, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was authorized by Abraham Lincoln to organize a cavalry protecting mail and telegraph lines along the continental route.
At the Utah state Capitol, a memorial stands honoring the 130 men who protected the telegraph lines and includes a special tribute to Henry Wells Jackson. On the memorial, the plaque states the husband and father of three, was out East attempting to collect $1,300 he was owed. While there he found employment as a wagon master when captured by Confederate soldiers.
After he was released in exchange for Confederate prisoners, Jackson decided to enlist in the Union army because of the way he was treated while imprisoned. The lieutenant was shot at the Battle of white Bridge and later died to infection, making him the lone documented Utah casualty of the Civil War.
Spanish-American War
The brief war that ended Spanish presence in 1898 in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific resulted in the U.S. gaining sovereignty over Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, also establishing a protectorate over Cuba.
Utah had only been welcomed into the Union in 1896 but the Spanish-American War was the state’s first occasion of providing soldiers to assist in a war effort.
According to History to Go, Utah met an original quota of 425 troops, and ultimately provided 800 troops by the end of the conflict. While in the Philippines, 15 Utah soldiers died.
World War I
With a late entry to the First World War, the U.S. only suffered 116,500 deaths, paling in comparison to other Allied powers such as the 1,700,000, 1,357,800 and 908,371 which the Russian Empire, France and Britain suffered, per Britannica.
Utah provided 21,000 soldiers, and of these soldiers, approximately 665 died, 864 were wounded and 219 killed in combat, History to Go reports.
At the time, World War I was considered the deadliest war of all time.
World War II
As Adolf Hitler built Germany back into a world power while undertaking conquests of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark and France, the Allied Powers pushed back against the dictator and the conflict resulted in a staggering 60-80 million deaths — the largest the world has ever seen in any conflict, per History.
The U.S. saw 16 million soldiers fight in World War II, and of those troops, 421,000 lost their life.
By 1945, 62,107 Utahns were in active military, not including those already deployed or killed, according to History to Go. Of the American deaths, 2,106 Utahns were killed.
The Forgotten War
Commonly dubbed the “forgotten war,” the Korean War played a significant role in solidifying the dictatorship in North Korea, per historical accounts.
The war saw 141 Utahns lose their lives and 17,000 serve, according to a KSL report.
Vietnam War (1964-75)
The Vietnam War created strong feelings about whether the U.S. should be involved at all, and it often resulted in protests on American soil.
To fill the needs of the military, the mandatory draft was heavily used, resulting in some, called draft dodgers, avoiding military service, according to reports of the time.
History to Go reports Utah sent the fifth largest percentage of eligible young men to Vietnam at 8.6%, ahead of the national average of 6.9%. In all, Utah sent 27,910 soldiers, of which, 388 died or were listed as missing.
Post 9/11
Following the devastating attacks of 9/11, President George W. Bush declared a war on terror. The cause lasted 20-years and was mainly fought in the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
Major milestones of the war include the capture of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden’s assassination, though the joyful days for Americans did not provide an end to be seen. It wasn’t until 10 years later when President Joe Biden pulled troops out of Afghanistan, that the was considered to be over by many.
Over the 20 years, 7,000 U.S. soldiers died military deaths, the data website EBSCO reports. Of these deaths 52 were Utah soldiers, according to 24/7 Wall St.