美國民衆緬懷陣亡將士

States will honor those who died in military service with the annual MeMorial Day holiday Monday.

While many communities across the country will honor the war dead with parades, patriotic concerts and ceremonies, others will mark the day with quiet reflection on those who have lost their lives in military service.

On Sunday, thousands of motorcycle riders Rolled through Washington for the annual Rolling Thunder rally to call attention to prisoners of war and those missing in action.

President Barrack Obama used his weekly address to commemorate Memorial Day and pay tribute to the men and women in uniform who have given their lives in service to our country.

He said the holiday is especially meaningful this year because it is the first Memorial Day since the war in Afghanistan ended.

The first large-scale observance of what was originally called Decoration Day took place at Arlington cemetery in 1868, three years after the bloody U.S. Civil War that killed more than 600,000 people.

Many Americans have the day off from work and school, and the three-day weekend is seen as the unofficial start of the summer vacation season. Many families have picnics or make trips to the beach, parks or campgrounds.美國各州民衆將在星期一一年一度的陣亡將士紀念日緬懷那些在戰爭中犧牲的軍人。

全國許多社區將以遊行、愛國音樂會和典禮的形式來悼念那些陣亡將士，而其他人則會以安靜緬懷的方式度過陣亡將士紀念日。

星期日，數千人騎着摩托車在首都華盛頓參加了一年一度的稱爲“滾雷”的摩托車大遊行，以此來引起人們對戰俘和戰爭失蹤人員的關注。

奧巴馬總統在發表每週例行講話時紀念陣亡將士紀念日，他在講話中向那些爲國家獻出了生命的男女將士致敬。

他說，今年的節日尤其具有意義，因爲它是阿富汗戰事結束後的第一個陣亡將士“紀念日”。

第一次大規模紀念陣亡將士的活動於美國內戰結束三年後的1868年在阿靈頓公墓舉行。血腥的美國內戰造成60多萬人死亡。起初，這個節日被稱爲“裝飾日”。

許多美國人在陣亡將士紀念日這一天不用上班或上學。三天的長週末也被民間視爲夏天度假季節的開始。許多家庭會在這個小長假去野餐，或去海邊、公園旅行，或去野營。