GREATER AKRON — On May 25, community residents across the area will pause to honor American service members who lost their lives in combat. Ceremonies, gatherings and parades will mark the solemn occasion of Memorial Day.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday in 1971, but Decoration Day has been observed since shortly after the end of the Civil War, as a time for Americans to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. In December 2000, the U.S. Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance, encouraging all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.
Green…