Memorial Day Old Time Radio Broadcast: "Private Throgg" from Columbia Workshop, May 29, 1939

Between the American Revolution and the current conflict in Iraq, more than 26 million men and women have served America in wartime. Nearly 900,000 of those who served never returned home. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice whilst serving their nation.

Memorial Day traces its origins to the days following the Civil War, when many people from the North and South decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers.

Decoration Day, as it was then known, was first observed officially on May 30, 1868 after Commander John A. Logan announced "the 30th of May is designated as a day of memorial to those who died in defence of our country. Let no ravages of time testify to the present or to coming generations that we as a people have forgotten the cost of a free and undivided republic".

In 1882 Decoration Day was changed to Memorial Day and in 1971, President Nixon declared it a national holiday.

To commemorate Memorial Day in old time radio, Parker Fennelly wrote a short play for Columbia Workshop entitled "Private Throgg." Parker Fennelly also played the leading role in the story, which is a dramatized character study of Elias Throgg who fought in the Union Army.

"Private Throgg" starring Parker Fennelly from 1939

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