From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Memorial Day, the past and the present.

Hello again, I'm Arlenalny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

Memorial Day began after the Civil War.

It was started by Southern women,

mourning what they called the Lost Cause, the Confederacy.

When the northern states got into the act,

it was all about commemorating the soldiers who died for the Union Army.

On To the Point, we'll bring the history up to the present holiday,

which is also about barbecues, three-day weekends, and the beginning of summer.

Does America do a good job of remembering war dead?

What about grieving families and veterans?

On reporter's notebook later on, the GI Bill and the presidential campaign.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and

Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again, Mormon Alney, back with To the Point. Memorial Day

began after the Civil War, which killed 600,000 Americans, North and South. But the first day of

remembrance wasn't really about them. The latest historical update comes from Carolyn Janie,

assistant professor at Purdue University. She's author of Burying the Dead, but not the past.

Ladies Memorial Associations and the Lost Cause. Professor Janie, thanks very much for joining us.

Thank you for inviting me. Who were the Ladies Memorial Associations, and what

...