GoCertify Honors Fallen Servicemembers on Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States. It's a federal holiday, so the GoCertify home office is closed until Tuesday. Memorial Day honors the American citizens, both men and women, who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. It is spiritually akin to Veteran's Day (Nov. 11), which honors all Armed Forces members, including those who did not die while serving.

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We'll return to our regular schedule of operations tomorrow. Until then, why not enjoy this Memorial Day-themed quiz?

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1) Who wrote the Memorial Day poem that closes with the lines, "Your silent tents of green / We deck with fragrant flowers; / Yours has the suffering been, / The memory shall be ours"?

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2) When is the most recent year prior to 2018 that Memorial Day was observed on May 28?

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3) What 2017 film is centered around a Memorial Day weekend heist? 

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4) Who were the featured performers at the 2017 National Memorial Day Concert on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.?

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5) What war spurred the creation and eventual nationwide adoption of Memorial Day?

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6) What is the location of the oldest annually held Memorial Day parade in the United States?

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7) Where is the Eternal Light Peace Memorial?

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8) What time on Memorial Day is the National Moment of Remembrance?

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9) What event does the nickname "Memorial Day massacre" refer to?

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10) What is the highest-grossing movie ever release on Memorial Day weekend?

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‍ANSWERS

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1) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow's poem "Decoration Day" was first published in The Atlantic, a magazine Longfellow helped establish, in June 1882, two months after the poet's death at age 75.

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2) The last time that Memorial Day fell on May 28 was in 2012. The next Memorial Day to be observed on May 28 will come around in 2029.

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3) Logan Lucky. Brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan plot to boost cash being held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.

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4) The featured performers at the 2017 concert were tenth-season American Idol winner Scotty McCreery, former Miss America Vanessa Williams, and singer/actress Auli'i Cravahlo (star of the Disney animated feature Moana).

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5) The Civil War. Though there were a number of notable instances of honoring and remembering the fallen on both sides of the conflict in the years during and immediately after the war, the first formal observance of a Civil War memorial service is generally believed to have been organized in Columbus, Mississippi, on April 25,1866, to honor fallen soldiers from both sides of the conflict.

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6) Rochester, Wis. The citizens of Rochester have held a Memorial Day parade every year since 1867.

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7) Gettysburg National Military Park is the site of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, which boasts a natural gas-fed flame that can be seen from a distance of 20 miles. The cornerstone of the memorial was laid at a 1913 veteran's encampment featuring former soldiers from both sides of the conflict; the finished memorial was dedicated 25 years later in 1938.

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8) Established by an act of Congress in 2000, the National Moment of Rememberance is observed each year on Memorial Day at 3 p.m. local time across the United States.

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9) The Memorial Day massacre of 1937 occurred when Chicago police officers fired on a crowd of unarmed protesters during a steelworkers strike, killing 10 and injuring 30, on May 30, 1937. The nickname has also been used to refer to Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals, held May 27, 1985, when the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 148-114. Boston was victorious in only one other game in the series, which ended with the Lakers claming a 4-2 series victory to become NBA champions.

10) Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Upon its release in 2007, the third Pirates of the Caribbean film raked in $139 million over its four-day opening weekend, May 25-28.