WUA – To Memorial Day…..
I’ve Never Thought About Memorial Day Like This…
The fact is that most people will not attend Memorial Day events this holiday weekend. Indeed,
most Americans have little knowledge of, or connection to the Memorial
day events. This is the first long weekend of the summer and most will
be thinking of anything but Memorial Day. It is a reality that those who
have served this country in uniform, and their families, are less that 1% of the American population.
Most people today, even though we have been at war for the last 14
years, do not even know anyone who is serving, or who has served in our
military. Most would not be able to tell you why we celebrate Memorial
Day.
Echo Military Taps - HQ Recording and Moving Images
This
coming weekend our cities will be decorated in bunting and the American
flag will be flying along downtown streets all across America. There
will be memorial ceremonies held at National Cemeteries, and small local
cemeteries, where veterans are buried beneath broad, manicured grounds marked with long, regimented rows of white marker stones.
Some
people will gather in those places of rest around the country to
remember their own family members who died in service. Others will come
to honor all who have served the nation in times of war and times of
peace. The flag will be raised solemnly as the National Anthem is played
or sung. The plangent, melancholy notes of “Taps” will waft over the
silent grounds. The old veterans in attendance will be recognized by
their baseball hats emblazoned with military branch insignias, or with
the names of the wars they were in. They will stand at awkward attention
and salute at the raising of the flag, or during the playing of “Taps.”
Their eyes and cheeks may be moist with tears, because they will be remembering fallen brothers and sisters in ways most can not imagine.
Why, then, should we all remember?
It
is not wars that we are remembering with this national holiday. Rather,
we are remembering those who served and those who gave their last full
measure of devotion in order to insure that the freedoms that this
country offers to all would be able to be passed on to the next
generations. We remember them because
they tell us something of our human dignity. They remind us of the cost
of freedom and of the quality of our character as a nation. We do not
gather on this holiday to glorify wars. Rather, we are challenged to remember that when war comes unbidden to us, there are those who are willing to give their all to defend this nation. Deep down we want to remember in
the hope that we will find ways to prevent wars and never again have to
fight them again. There is, among veterans, no more hoped for desire
than the desire that their own sons and daughters will never have to
suffer the terrors of war, or the effects of war.
All veterans hope and pray that their war will be the last war.
History
Memorial
Day remembrances go back to the Civil War. They were originally called
“Decoration Day” and were created out of a desire to honor those who had
fallen. It was officially proclaimed on the 5th of May, 1868 by General
John Logan, the then commander of the Army of the Republic, in his
General Order No. 11. It read: “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for
the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the
graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late
rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and
hamlet churchyard in the land.” That particular date, May 30, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
In December of 2000 a resolution was passed in Congress calling on all Americans to observe a National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 p.m.
local time. We are asked “to voluntarily and informally observe in our
own ways a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever [we]
are doing for a moment of silence or listening to the playing of
‘Taps.'”
We here at The Veterans Site encourage
all to attend your local Memorial Day events. If you are unable to do
so, we encourage you to observe the “Moment of Remembrance” this
Memorial Day by yourselves, or with those you might be with at that
time. Share this post on Facebook to encourage your friends and families
as well. It would be a great way to teach the young of the importance of remembering those who have sacrificed so
much in service to this county. It is their sacrifices that have
protected and defended all of the freedoms and privileges we enjoy as
American citizens.
Why should we remember?
We should remember because a nation that cannot, or that will not, remember its past will suffer a far more perilous future.
Thanks Ronald
“When you’re in the jar, you can’t read the label”
“DON’T OUTSMART YOUR COMMON-SENSE”
Help me help you HELP America! …..Now today!
….It’s our country, ours!
American’s - Vs. – American’t
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