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My family has been blessed since every serviceman who has been in combat dating back to the Apache wars has come home safely. I pray that my cousin in Iraq comes home safely, too.
My heart goes out to the families who have not been as lucky. We are grateful, and will never forget.
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I'm not sure too many folks remember what Memorial Day is,Johnsonweed. You do.
At my store, I have a "Lost Man " table such as they have at military banquets.It isa for the solder or sailor who gave his or her life.
There is a white tablecloth,black napkin,a plate with salt(representing tears)a lemon(bitter pain) and a white candle (peace). The chair is tipped to lean against the table.
I hate for Memorial Day to just be another three day weekend without meaning. I thought about putting it so the webcam would be on it but I have to put it out in front of the shop since it's so busy this weekend.
Posts: 39 | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Maker, that's very touching. I have to admit, the meaning of the day has been lost in the sands of time for me, and the kids are not currently told anything about it at school, which is my typical refresher.
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"Happy" seems a strange way of putting it. We should always respect and care for our veterans.
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Every year, all the cub scouts, boy scouts, many veterans, and just interested people show up on early saturday morning at the veterans cemetary to help plant the 37,000 American flags above the headstones. My 8-year-old loves doing it every year.
Posts: 115 | Registered: May 2005
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In my home town of Grafton West Virginia it’s hard to not know the meaning of Memorial Day. We’re home to the state’s only national cemetery so it makes it a big deal. We have a huge parade. It’s about a mile long from start to finish and goes on for over two hours. Thousands of people come to watch and our city’s population that day probably triples. Growing up I always marched in the Memorial Day parade carrying flowers to lay on a tombstone at the gave site. We always had to wear white and carried an American flag. Once I got in high school I was in the drum line so I marched with band. I remember once when I was young my cousin came in for a visit over the Memorial Day weekend and I asked them why they weren’t going to march in their parade. When they said they didn’t have one I was really confused on who would decorate their soldiers graves. It took me a while to realize that my town was very special in regards to Memorial Day and I know it’s a big reason for me being as patriotic as I am. I do get to march tomorrow. I’m going with our local House of Delegates representative and get to hand out candy to the kids. Should be fun.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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By god, they died for us. By god, they are heroes. They died for us. (WARNING: IF YOU ARE CHRISTIAN, THIS MAY OFFEND YOU.) Christ dying on the cross for me? Lovely. Absolutly fabulous -- but sorry, I don't do that drug. Soliders dying, RPGs shooting down helicopters? By god, those are heroes.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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Memorial Day is a tough day for someone who is as anti-war as I am. Here's some thoughts I wrote from a perspective of what I would say if I had to give a speech today.
quote:We are here today, Memorial Day, with the express purpose to honor our warriors. Those who died in war and those who served, survived, and came home but who are also now dead.
Everyone, I’m sure, thinks we know why we single these people out. They were for the most part men, and they left home and did something most of us would never want to do – they risked their lives and fought our country’s enemies. They sacrificed.
We can debate all day and to the end of our own time on Earth whether those sacrifices were worth the cost. To our beloved dead and to ourselves. The talk about it will never end. And it shouldn’t. It is right for us to always question war and its costs. It helps to keep the world from more wars.
And, in the end, the only judge of whether a war was truly just or not, is God. We get to decide now, but God decides in the end about our actions and words and thoughts here on Earth. Even when we know that a specific war was necessary. Still God is the judge, not us.
We can also debate the rhyme and reason of all that sacrifice and how it stacks up against the sacrifices made by others on our behalf. Our parents, the people who trained us in school, the folks who cared enough to start a community, the ones who just quietly did the Lord’s work as best they could and in doing so, set us all an example. Again, it isn’t in us to be the judge, try as we might. There’s a better, more perfect judgment than ours.
It’s a tough thing, really, to come to a cemetery full of loved ones and single a few out on a day like today and honor them. Was the boy who died at the age of 19 in a war more beloved than the one who died in a car crash? Was the one a better person? In honoring the few, do we insult the memory of the others here?
So why are we here? Partly we’re here for the same reason anyone goes into any cemetery at any time. Because we miss them. Because whether death came too soon or came at the end of a long full life, their absence left a hole that we can’t fill all on our own.
The real answer to all of this is that, officially today is about the soldiers, but it is that way because we decided that we should honor our dead and gather together to remember, and share the pain of missing them. But it doesn’t stop us inside our hearts from remembering everyone, of missing all those who have influenced our lives for the better.
The heroes of our heart are why we’re here today. To renew that bond with them. To give our respect to the influence they hold for us still. To remember.
And when we reflect on the ones in our hearts who died in war, or who suffered in war and survived and who are now gone from us, we can make one further pledge. Not just to remember, but to learn the lessons. We can pledge to make a stronger effort to stop wars before they start, whenever possible. We can pledge to pay attention to the lessons of the past, and to work harder in choosing our leaders, and to urge others to do the same. And to be as long-sighted as we possibly can so that we anticipate the outcome of actions we take now and to simply care about the future enough to stop ourselves from doing the things that make it more likely that we’ll have to go to war tomorrow. And even though we know we might fail, and some men and women will make the sacrifice because of that failure, we can’t just give up and say “war is inevitable.” That’s what the real lesson of Memorial Day is – that we can’t give up. Our dead don’t let us. They are here as reminders of the cost and who bore it. And we are here in covenant with them, or the memory of them, to say precisely that we haven’t forgotten and we will learn. We will try to find a better way. We will remember.
NOTE: I was just trying to figure out what I would say if I had to speak on Memorial Day. I don't think it'll ever happen. Maybe for obvious reasons.
NOTE2: I wasn't trying to be political in that last paragraph. Not a slam on the current Administration. If anything, a slam on our own short-sightedness in the past that makes it more likely (or even probable) that we'll have wars now and in the future. I'm not sure that comes across as neutral as I meant it to.
posted
Tater: If you'd like, we could discuss religion in a different thread. I referenced the subject as a unison between my relgious beliefs and my passionate admiration for soliders, not to start a debate on the matter.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Bob, I get what you were saying there, but if I were giving a speech then, I would have made more specific mention of our war dead, and why they died rather than speaking against all war.
We know war is a bad thing, but my own personal perspective on it is that sometimes the only thing worse than fighting for something is not do so when you should have.
If you are attacked, then war is sometimes the only possible reaction to it, the only way to hold on to what you hold dear.
Obviously you don't feel that this is where we are today, and I have mixed feelings on the issue as well....
But this weekend would not have been the time I would have discussed it, not on public.
I am not saying you were wrong to do so, just that I would have chosen differently.
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Unfortunately, Memorial Day does not touch my personal life all that much. I do not personally know many people who serve in the military, much less people who have died in that service.
So I tend to be one of those people who just spends it like any other day. The idea of Memorial Day is nice just like the idea of pledging allegiance to the Flag is nice. But it doesn't stir me deeply.
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Memorial Day touches the lives of everyone who is alive today to celebrate it.
The scarifice of hundreds of thousands over the history of this nation were not just about politics or personal glory, but to keep and preserve the God given gift of freedom.
We enjoy what we enjoy today because someone was willing to don a uniform and sacrifice their lives for us.
So when we enjoy the privilge of speaking in this forum, remember that there are those who sacrificed that very privilige. When we dine out, go to movies, travel this great nation and stare in awe and wonder at the miracle of life, when we go to work, go to bed or go to church or wherever, please remember that someone sacrificed those simple privileges so we could enjoy them.
I read once of a soldier who jojned up not becasue of patriotism but for a paycheck and an education. He did not want to fight anyone. Then one day, he was called upon to represent his branch of the military by playing taps at the tomb of the unknown soldier when they interred the remains of the unknown soldier from Viet Nam.
As crowds gathered around, flags fluttered in the wind, perfectly dressed men and women in uniform stood at attention and the crack of rifles exploded overhead as a 21 gun salute filled the air. The President of the United States somberly walked forward and layed a wreath upon the tomb.
Then came his moment. Suddenly, he was chocked up with emotions as the realization came over him that these brave men and women did this for him, and all he had to give was this melancholy tune, offered out of the deepest respect for them. Fighting back tears he closed his eyes and began. With each note he thought of them from Bunker Hill to Gettysburg, to Iwo Jima and beyond. He played perfectly, for them.
Now, he understands what we remember and why we remember on Memorial Day.
As old as I am, I will never forget my commrades in arms who made the ultimate sacrifice that I may enjoy the privilge of writing this today.
quote:The scarifice of hundreds of thousands over the history of this nation were not just about politics or personal glory, but to keep and preserve the God given gift of freedom.
It's odd, then, that we don't have more days to honor lawyers, policemen, and politicians, who do at least as much to preserve this "gift."
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I know Memorial Day is over, but I'd personally like to thank and express my gratitude to those service men and women who put their lives on the line and sacrifice themselves for a nation of people they do not know, but love anyway. It is the ultimate gift and anyone willing to give it deserves our utmost respect and appreciation.
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