National Moment of Remembrance

The White House Commission on Remembrance is asking schools to hold a Remembrance Ceremony as close to Memorial Day (Monday, May 29) as possible, and actively encourage students to pause on Memorial Day at 3:00 p.m. local time to think about the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom since the time of our nation's founding. The National Moment of Remembrance asks all Americans to pause for one minute on Memorial Day in an act of national unity.

The idea of a moment of remembrance was born in 1996 when children touring Washington, D.C., were asked what Memorial Day meant to them. They responded, "That's the day the pools open!" The mid-afternoon time was chosen because that is when a majority of Americans are enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday. Four years later, the White House Commission on Remembrance was established by Congress to promote the values of Memorial Day by acts of remembrance throughout the year.