<P> Changing the date merely to create three - day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day . No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day . </P> <P> Starting in 1987 Hawaii's Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, introduced a measure to return Memorial Day to its traditional date . Inouye continued introducing the resolution until his death in 2012 . </P> <P> On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half - staff position, where it remains only until noon . It is then raised to full - staff for the remainder of the day . </P> <P> The half - staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country . At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all . </P>

When do you put the flag up for memorial day