Memorial Day in 2011 falls on May 30, 2011. By an Act of Congress in 1968 Memorial Day has been designated as the last Monday in May, replacing the traditional Memorial Day of May 30. The 2011 Memorial Day falls on the traditional Memorial Date for the first time in years. The history of Memorial Day dates back to the United States Civil War. Through many transformations, Memorial Day has evolved in the USA as a Day of Commemoration for those who served in the Military to protect and defend the ideals and principals of the United States and its allies around the world.
In recent decades Memorial Day has sadly lost it meaning to many Americans and it is seen as holiday to shop, barbecue and relax away from work for an extra day. In the midst of World War II, the Founder of Mehron Makeup, Mehron Melik found his own private, special way to commemorate Memorial Day by offering his services and his Makeup to the severely disabled and disfigured Servicemen who were returning home from the devastation of an horrific war. The Militarily Hospitals at Home, although Staffed with the best Medical Personnel were overwhelmed by the amount of men who they needed to service. Volunteers from all walks of life pitched in to lend a hand at the Military Hospitals throughout the USA.
The severity of battles and the force of the weapons that the US Servicemen were facing during World War II left many horribly disfigured, the dedicated Medical Personnel put their initial efforts into saving lives, and as many men were saved, there was now a need to acclimate them back into Civilian Life despite the disabilities and disfigurements that war had wreaked on them. Even as the physical damage of war was healed by Medical Professionals, the psychological damage was immense. Many Servicemen could not bear to be seen while being treated because of their disfigurements.
Beginning in 1927 Mehron Melik was creating Theatrical Makeup by hand and practicing the art that is now called, Makeup Artist. Upon learning of the distress that many Servicemen in Military Hospitals were undergoing because of their physical deformities, Mehron and his contemporaries such as Jack Dawn of Wizard of Oz Makeup Fame, volunteered their expertise in Makeup Application to the Servicemen in Veterans Hospitals who were suffering from self esteem issues while their physical deformities were being corrected by the Military Doctors.
During the time of World War II reconstructive surgery was a long and arduous process, often times required multiple surgeries over a prolonged period of time. Makeup Artists and Manufacturers such as Mehron Melik used their Makeup Skills and Makeup to teach the Servicemen how to use Makeup to cover up deformities while they were waiting for the reconstructive process to be completed. Their level of self esteem and willingness to have visitors increased as the Servicemen applied their Makeup and were able to hide the physical scars of war. Hiding the physical scars gave the Servicemen confidence that their deformities had robbed from them. Mehron Melik, Jack Dawn and others like them turned Memorial Day into an all year round event, as they visited Servicemen on almost a weekly basis to show them how Theatrical Makeup could help them rid themselves of the physiological damage of their physical wounds.
In 2010, the United States again finds its Veteran Medical System at the brink with Military Personnel returning home from two theaters of operation with horrific deformities from brutal battles. Medical Assistance for the wounds of war has progressed immensely from World War II till now, however, the same physiological damage and self esteem issues still exist because of the physical scarring of their wounds. If Mehron Melik was still here today, he most certainly would still be paying visits to wounded Veterans bringing them the innovations of Mehron Makeup, such as Airbrush Makeup and the newest Mehron Makeup Foundation for every skin tone, to ease their transition back to a civilian life and cosmetically correct the physical scars that war has left on them.
Every Makeup Artist posses the imagination and the gift of Makeup Artistry to make a difference in the lives of Servicemen returning home and looking forward to the day when their physical scars are vanished by modern medical technology. While they wait, the talented and gifted Makeup Artists throughout the Nation can lend their expertise in the art of Makeup Transformation to change someone's outlook if even for a day, just as the innovators of the Makeup Industry have done in the past.
