I just got back from the cemetery. Put flags and flowers on my relatives graves. This afternoon we’ll get the grill ready to cook steaks and fries. Frosty cold Watermelon on the deck late this evening will wrap it up.
Sadly, we don’t have any parades in my local area on Memorial Day. I always take a private moment to give thanks to our veterans for the sacrifices they made. It’s especially important knowing that our soldiers are still in Iraq and Afghanistan today.
Okay, I’ll point out the obvious and say that Memorial Day is in memory of those who died in combat, unlike Veterans’ Day, which is for those still living.
Good point.
We’ve always combined Memorial Day and Veterans Day observance in my family. We don’t get off work for Veterans Day and there’s usually nothing special planned. I lost family that served in WWII and also have living relatives that are veterans.
It’s becoming more fuzzy as years go by and holidays morph, and there’s nothing wrong with thanking veterans (I’m one). Hell, Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, and was in remembrance of Union Soldiers. WWI changed that. Even July 4th seems to be changing into Let’s Glorify The Military Day, which is far removed from the original intent.
I privately thanked the living and the dead and put the flag out. I’m (relatively) free because of their sacrifice and bravery.
“It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country, in defense of us, in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray haired. But most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives - the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us. And all we can do is remember.”
-Ronald Reagan, 1985
I disagree. What started as a holiday to remember those who died in combat is not what it is now. Many people honor the dead who never served. Veterans day used to be for WWI soldiers that had died.
And what about those who never saw war? I think it’s appropriate to acknowledge that they could have or could be one of the people we may eulogize in a few years.
If Memorial Day can be a holiday where people remember all of the dead, I don’t see how it can’t be a holiday where we thank or recognize all who serve/d.
I like that. It reminds me of that letter that was read in Ken Burn’s Civil War documentary. An officer, Sullivan Ballou, writes to his wife before a battle, and one part always makes me tear up. I’m quoting from memory, so I hope I get it right.
*“But oh Sarah, how hard it is to burn to ashes the hopes of future years when we might have lived and loved and seen our sons grown to honorable manhood.”
*
I think you have it wrong- Memorial Day isn’t about remembering dear old Grandma who died a few years back… unless she was killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nor is it about remembering some dude killed in a car wreck somewhere, unless again, the wreck was in Iraq or Afghanistan.
It’s about remembering the military people who died in the service of the United States.
Veteran’s Day (originally Nov 11th, same as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth & Armistice Day in France) was set aside to remember living veterans of wars, because unlike the Europeans, we’d already set aside Memorial Day in May to remember the war dead.
Where it gets a little murky for me is which day is for veterans who have subsequently died, and non-combat related military deaths. It’s not really clear to me which one their remembrance is categorized under.
You may disagree, but you’re wrong; from Wiki:
Honoring the dead who never served is called “birthdays”, “Mother’s/Father’s Day” or any other day on which you remember them. They’re not memorialized on a national holiday, nor are there parades for them, however we may wish it so.