May 26, 1940 – The Dunkirk evacuation began on the northern coast of France to save Allied forces trapped by the German Army. Vessels of all shapes and sizes ferried over 340,000 soldiers across the English Channel concluding on June 2.
May 29, 1953 – Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay are first to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of a British Expedition.
May 30, 1868 – The first national observance of Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is inspired by Commander in Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic for the purpose of honoring Union soldiers who died in the Civil War. It is now observed on the last Monday of May as a federal holiday for mourning all military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces.
May 30, 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated featuring the compelling statue of a “seated” Lincoln along with carved inscriptions of his Gettysburg address and second inaugural address.