More than half of Americans don’t know what Memorial Day is

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Over half of Americans don’t know what Memorial Day is, according to new research.

The shocking data was revealed in a new survey of 2,000 Americans, which found that only 48% of respondents knew that Memorial Day is a holiday honoring military personnel who died in service to their country.

Thirty-five percent of the panelists incorrectly thought Memorial Day was a holiday celebrating all military personnel, both living and deceased. This, of course, is actually Veterans Day.

Interestingly, one in twenty (5%) wrongly thought it was a holiday commemorating all public servants, military or not, who lost their lives while working.

When splitting out the results of the data by generation, there seems to be a divide amongst age groups.

Older generations, by and large, were far more likely to know the exact definition of Memorial Day when compared to younger Americans.

Only 27% of Gen Z respondents selected the correct definition, as well as just 38% of millennials.

Baby boomers were most on top of it, with 56% knowing precisely why Memorial Day was observed.

But just because you don’t know exactly what Memorial Day is, doesn’t mean you have to work on the unofficial start of summer.

Of employed survey respondents, 65% have the day off from their job, while 35% will still be heading into work.

Why do we observe Memorial Day?

To honor military personnel who died in service to their country. 48%
To honor all military veterans, both living and deceased 35%
To remember all public servants who lost their lives while working. 5%
To commemorate the Founding Fathers and their role in American independence. 3%
To honor past presidents who served in the military. 2%

Survey methodology

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans; the survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between May 9 and May 15, 2025.

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