Memorial Day Word Search Printable for the Last Week of May
Press Print or save as PDF for a puzzle about remembrance as well as red, white and blue.
Name Date
Memorial Day Word Search
Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.
0 of 16 words found
XEITPIOBUGLERFU
PPWTAICFTJDULEA
HONOREMEMBERONE
EPSIAMFNLSTPERD
LPUTDIBRAVETNDI
RYWREATHSVOIFYN
URBNNHYEGTHCTEO
NFLMNRTXTTSCATE
LUPLNHFNOWFEPSW
YWTMPNFLOWERSTI
OJLSTARSOLDIERH
EANOONARGMIULIR
SUQREEHACDOIRPR
BASHERODSALUTEH
DVMSILENCEHBASU
This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.
REMEMBER
HONOR
HERO
BRAVE
SILENCE
SALUTE
WREATH
FLOWERS
POPPY
BUGLE
TAPS
SOLDIER
NOON
STARS
STRIPES
PARADE
16 of 24 words from the Memorial Day Favorites list.
Tap or click the first letter of a word, then its last letter. Or drag across the word. On a touch screen, hold the first letter for a moment before you drag. On a keyboard, the arrow keys move, Enter marks the first and the last letter, and Escape clears a first letter.
CourageThe strength to do what is needed in spite of fear.
DutyWhat a person is bound to do. Service members swear to do theirs.
FallenA respectful word for service members who died while serving.
FreedomThe liberty that the people mourned on this day served to protect.
GratitudeThankfulness. Visitors to a military grave feel it for someone they never met.
HeroA person admired for brave deeds.
HonorTo show deep respect. The holiday does this for service members who died while serving.
MemorialAnything made or done so that people are not forgotten: a statue, a wall of names, a holiday.
MomentA short pause. Since 2000 a national one of remembrance has been set for 3:00 p.m. on the holiday.
MournTo feel and show sadness for someone who has died.
NationA country and its people. This one is asked to pause together at 3:00 p.m.
PeaceThe absence of war, and the hope of everyone who visits a military grave.
ReflectTo think quietly and carefully about something that matters.
Show all 99 words (85 more)
Honor and Remember, continued
RememberTo keep someone in your mind. It is the whole purpose of the last Monday of May.
RemembranceThe act of keeping the dead in mind. The 3:00 p.m. pause on the holiday is named for it.
RespectQuiet, careful manners at a ceremony show this.
SacrificeGiving up something precious for the sake of others. The people mourned on this day gave their lives.
SaluteRaising the right hand to the forehead as a sign of respect.
ServiceTime spent in the armed forces. The holiday mourns those who died during theirs.
SilenceNo talking at all. A minute of it is a common way to mark the day.
SolemnSerious and quiet. It is the mood of the morning ceremonies.
TributeSomething said or done to show respect and thanks, such as a speech or a wreath.
Memorial Day Ceremony 27
ArlingtonThe national cemetery in Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Its first burial was in 1864.
BouquetA bunch of cut flowers tied together.
BugleA brass horn with no valves. A single one sounds Taps at military ceremonies.
CemeteryA burial ground. At the national ones, volunteers set a small flag at each grave for the holiday.
CeremonyA formal event with set words and actions, such as laying a wreath.
DecorateTo make something beautiful. People did this to soldiers' graves with flowers, which gave the day its first name.
FlowersLaid on graves each spring. It is said the old date, May 30, was picked because so many are in bloom then.
GoldThe color of the star on a family's service flag when a relative has died in military operations.
GraveA burial place. Decorating soldiers' ones with flowers is how the holiday began.
HeadstoneThe stone at the top of a grave, cut with a name and dates. Rows of white ones fill the national cemeteries.
MedalA metal award on a ribbon, given for bravery or service.
MonumentA structure built so that people or events are not forgotten.
NamesRead aloud one by one at many town ceremonies.
PlaqueA flat metal or stone plate on a wall, often listing a town's war dead.
PoppyA red field flower. A 1915 war poem about Flanders made it a sign of remembrance.
SailorA member of a navy.
SentinelA guard who keeps watch. The one at Arlington walks 21 steps past the tomb, then waits 21 seconds.
SoldierA member of an army.
SpeechA talk given to a crowd. Mayors, veterans and students give them at town ceremonies.
StatueA figure of a person carved in stone or cast in metal.
TapsThe slow bugle call that ends a military funeral. General Daniel Butterfield arranged it in July 1862.
TombThe one of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington has been guarded 24 hours a day since July 2, 1937.
UniformThe matching clothes of a soldier, a sailor or a marching band.
UnknownA soldier whose name was never learned. One from World War I was buried at Arlington on November 11, 1921.
VeteranSomeone who served in the armed forces. The living ones have their own holiday on November 11.
VisitTo go and spend time at a place. Families do this at cemeteries on the holiday.
WreathA ring of flowers or leaves laid at a grave or monument.
Flag Customs 18
AnthemThe official song of a country.
BlueThe color of the corner field of the flag, where the stars sit.
CantonThe proper name for the blue corner of the flag.
FlagOn this holiday it flies halfway up the pole until noon, then at the top for the rest of the day.
FoldWhat a color guard does to a flag, corner over corner, until it makes a triangle.
GroundBy custom the flag should never touch this, or anything else beneath it.
NoonTwelve o'clock in the day, when the flag goes from the halfway point to the top.
PatrioticShowing love for your country.
PledgeA promise. Students say one to the flag with a hand over the heart.
PoleThe tall post a flag flies from.
RaiseTo lift up. The flag first goes briskly to the top, and only then down to the halfway point.
RedThe color of the poppy, and of the top and bottom stripes of the flag.
StaffAnother word for a flagpole. Half of it is how high the flag flies on the holiday morning.
StarsFifty of them, one for each state, sit on the blue corner of the flag.
StripesThirteen of them, red and white, stand for the thirteen colonies that won independence.
SunsetWhen the day ends. By custom a flag that is not lit comes down at this time.
TriangleThe three-sided shape of a flag put away the proper way.
WhiteThe color of the flag's fifty stars and of the headstones at Arlington.
Decoration Day History 16
BrooklynThis part of New York City says its yearly parade for the holiday, begun in 1867, is the oldest in the country.
CivilThe kind of war fought inside one country. America's lasted from 1861 to 1865 and led to the holiday.
CongressIt passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act on June 28, 1968.
DecorationThe holiday's first name joined this word to Day, for the flowers laid on graves.
FederalBelonging to the national government. A holiday of this kind closes post offices and most schools.
FlandersA region of Belgium. John McCrae, a Canadian army doctor, wrote his 1915 poppy poem about its fields.
HolidayA day set aside by law or custom. This one is for mourning as well as for rest.
LegionThe American one, a veterans' group, adopted the poppy as its symbol of remembrance in 1920.
LoganJohn A., the general who called for the first national observance, held on May 30, 1868.
MayThe fifth month. The holiday fell on its 30th day from 1868 to 1970 and now falls on its last Monday.
MondayThe holiday moved to the last one in May in 1971, which made a three-day weekend.
ObservanceThe keeping of a custom or special day. In 1868 there were events at 183 cemeteries in 27 states.
PoemWriting set out in lines and verses. One from 1915 tied the poppy to soldiers' graves.
ThirtyThe day of May on which the holiday fell from 1868 to 1970.
UnionThe northern side in the Civil War. The first national observance honored its dead.
WaterlooThe New York village that a 1966 presidential proclamation named the birthplace of the holiday.
Memorial Day Weekend 15
BandMusicians who walk in step and play.
CapitolThe domed building in Washington, D.C., where Congress meets. A holiday concert is held on its west lawn.
ConcertA yearly one for the holiday is held on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
CookoutA meal grilled and eaten outside, a common way to spend the holiday afternoon.
DrumsThey keep the marching beat.
FamilyRelatives who gather for the long weekend, and who visit graves together.
HometownThe place where you grew up. Most have a monument that lists local names.
MarchTo walk in step, as a color guard does.
NeighborsThe people who live near you and line the street for the procession.
ParadeBands, veterans and youth groups marching down the main street on the holiday morning.
PicnicA meal eaten outdoors, on a blanket or at a park table.
ScoutsYouth groups in uniform who often walk in the holiday procession.
SummerThe season that the holiday weekend unofficially opens. Labor Day unofficially closes it.
VolunteerSomeone who helps without pay, such as the people who set flags at national cemeteries.
WeekendSaturday and Sunday. With the holiday added it lasts three days.
How this list was compiled: 99 Memorial Day words chosen and defined for this site, in five themed lists (honoring and remembering, the ceremony at the cemetery, flag customs, the history of Decoration Day, the holiday weekend) plus three cross-cutting lists: 24 favorites that open the page, the 33 short words of 3 to 5 letters and the 23 long words of 8 to 11 letters. Every entry is a single word of 3 to 12 letters with no spaces, hyphens or apostrophes. No clue contains its own word, because the clue replaces the word in clue mode. The list keeps to those who died in service, which is what the day is for; Veterans Day, for all who served, has its own page and list. No brand, team, character or product name is included, and the only people named are John A. Logan (died 1886), Daniel Butterfield (died 1901) and John McCrae (died 1918). Definitions are our own wording for readers of about 7 to 12. Facts with a date, a place or a number in them were checked on 2026-09-19 against: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day (last Monday of May; mourns U.S. military personnel who died while serving; first called Decoration Day; first national observance May 30, 1868, proclaimed by John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic for the Union dead, with events in 183 cemeteries in 27 states; May 30 said to have been chosen for flowers in bloom; Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed June 28, 1968, in effect 1971; flag raised briskly, lowered to half-staff until noon, then full staff; National Moment of Remembrance Act of 2000, 3:00 p.m.; John McCrae, Canadian physician, In Flanders Fields, 1915; American Legion adopted the poppy in 1920; 1966 proclamation naming Waterloo, New York, the birthplace; Brooklyn parade since 1867; volunteers place flags on graves in national cemeteries; National Memorial Day Concert on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol; unofficial beginning of summer; Veterans Day on November 11 honors all who served), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taps_(bugle_call) (arranged by Daniel Butterfield, July 1862, Harrison's Landing, Virginia; a single bugle or trumpet; concludes military funerals), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier_(Arlington) (World War I Unknown interred November 11, 1921; 24-hour guard since July 2, 1937; 21 steps and 21 seconds), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_National_Cemetery (Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.; first burial May 13, 1864), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War (April 12, 1861 to May 26, 1865; the Union was the North), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_flag (a gold star for a relative who died in military operations), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States (13 stripes starting with red for the thirteen colonies that won independence; 50 white stars for the 50 states; the blue canton), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Flag_Code (the flag should never touch anything beneath it) and https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/6 (displayed from sunrise to sunset by custom unless lit; hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously). Left out because the pages read did not confirm them: the number of notes in Taps and who places the flags at Arlington. Rechecked 2026-09-20 after the truth review: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day (Brooklyn has held a yearly parade since 1867, and calls it the oldest in the nation; the first national observance was on May 30, 1868), so the Brooklyn clue reports the claim as Brooklyn's own. Review fix 2026-09-20 (round 3): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day read again that day (first national observance May 30, 1868; the Uniform Monday Holiday Act came into force federally in 1971), so May 30 was last the date in 1970 and the May and Thirty clues say 1868 to 1970. Favorites: Family and Freedom gave their places to Arlington and Silence, because the opening puzzle shared four words each with the Veterans Day and Fourth of July pages. Licence: own work
How it works
Most children know the first 16 words of this Memorial Day word search printable, Poppy, Bugle and Salute among them. The bank of 99 keeps to what the day is for: mourning service members who died.
Read the full guide
Ceremony, flag customs and Decoration Day
Memorial Day Ceremony has 27 words, Honor and Remember 23 and Flag Customs 18. A puzzle from Decoration Day History (16) or Memorial Day Weekend (15) holds its whole list. Each is a button in the Start from a list row. By reading level, Easy Memorial Day has the 33 words of 3 to 5 letters, such as Flag, Hero and Noon. Hard Memorial Day has 23 of 8 to 11, Remembrance among them.
Keep it apart from Veterans Day
Memorial Day mourns those who died while serving. Veterans Day, on November 11, honors everyone who served, the living included. The bank follows that line: Fallen, Headstone, Taps and Tomb are here, and thanking a veteran in person belongs to the Veterans Day word search.
School is closed on the day. On the Friday before, read the Moment clue and keep a minute of silence.
Flag Customs is for pupils who raise the flag: to the top, down to half-staff, up again at noon.
Making paper poppies? The Flanders clue says where the meaning comes from: a 1915 poem by a Canadian army doctor.
Questions and answers
Is this Memorial Day word search free?
It is, with no cap on copies. Print or save as PDF makes 2 pages: the puzzle under a Name and Date line, then the answer key with all 16 words ringed.
When is Memorial Day, and why did the date move?
The last Monday of May. From 1868 to 1970 it fell on May 30, whatever the weekday, and was first called Decoration Day for the flowers laid on soldiers' graves. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act, passed in 1968, took effect in 1971.
Is it suitable for young children?
Yes. The clues are plain and factual. They say that the day mourns service members who died, and they do not describe battle. Among the 99 words are Poppy, Bugle and Arlington, where a sentinel walks 21 steps past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.