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.