Coins, Poppies, and More Ways to Honor Fallen US Troops

Every year on the final Monday in May, Americans observe Memorial Day, a federal holiday that honors US troops who gave their lives while serving in the military. Originally called “Decoration Day,” the special occasion was first recognized in 1868 in the wake of the Civil War.

Unlike most American holidays, Memorial Day is less a celebration and more a solemn day of remembrance. Although the long weekend is often treated as the unofficial start of summer, there are many meaningful ways to observe the holiday and honor US service members who never made it home.

Memorial Day: Headstone Coins

Many Americans mark Memorial Day by visiting local cemeteries, where coins left on the headstones of service members are a common sight. But why do people leave coins on military headstones?

According to the Wounded Warrior Project, headstone coins are a simple way for Americans to show respect to fallen US troops while also letting surviving family members know that someone visited their loved one’s grave. Each coin has a different meaning:

• Penny: Someone has visited the grave.
• Nickel: The person who visited the grave “served with the deceased service member at boot camp.”
• Dime: The visitor and the buried American service member “served together at some point.”
• Quarter: The visitor “was physically with the service member when they died.”

Experts believe the practice of leaving coins on military headstones dates back to the Roman Empire, when “coins were placed into the mouth of fallen soldiers to pay for passage and protection across the River Styx, which separates the world of the living from the world of the dead.” According to Navy mythology, sailors also kept coins under a ship’s mast to pay for safe passage to the afterlife if they died at sea. During the Vietnam War, the historic tradition of headstone coins gained traction in the US, offering Americans a way to quietly honor US troops amid widespread opposition to the controversial conflict.

Red Poppies and American Flags

Another way to honor fallen US troops is to wear a red poppy, a bright flower that has been used as a “symbol of remembrance” since World War I, when brigade surgeon John McCrae wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields.” Just before Memorial Day in 1922, the Veterans of Foreign Wars – the largest and oldest veterans’ organization in the US – also distributed poppies nationwide to honor American service members who died in combat. More than 100 years later, the group’s effort to spread poppies across the nation for Memorial Day is still going strong.

If you don’t have access to poppies, flying an American flag is another meaningful way to honor the fallen. Notably, the Department of Veterans Affairs recommends flying US flags at half-staff on Memorial Day from sunrise until 12 p.m., at which point the flag should be fully raised until sunset.

Modern Memorial Day

In the age of social media, a great way to honor American service members is to post a tribute to their sacrifice online. Modern American presidents take part in this tradition every year, in addition to issuing a proclamation under 36 U.S. Code § 116, which states that the president should call “on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace.” This is perhaps the greatest way to honor the fallen: praying for the lasting peace they never lived to see.

1. Memorial Day, which was originally called “Decoration Day,” takes place on the final Monday in May.
2. Americans visiting the graves of fallen US troops can leave coins on their headstones. Each coin communicates a different, special message.
3. Red poppies, American flags, and social media tributes are great ways to honor fallen US troops on Memorial Day in modern America.