Memorial Day- Remembering What It Is and What It Is Not
True or False:
Memorial Day is a day we set aside to honor all of those who serve our nation in the Armed Forces of the United States.
If you answered “true,” you are not correct.
True or False:
Memorial Day is a day we set aside to honor all of those, living or dead, who have served our nation in the Armed Forces of the United States.
If you answered “true,” you are not correct.
True or False:
Memorial Day is a day we set aside to honor those who have served our nation in the Armed Forces of the United States, but who are no longer with us.
If you answered “true,” you are still not correct.
True or False:
Memorial Day is a day we set aside to honor those who died while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
If you answered “true,” you are still not quite correct.
True or False:
Memorial Day is a day we set aside to honor those who lost their lives in battle while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.
If you answered “true,” then you are quite correct…
Unlike Armed Forces Day which honors those who serve and have served our nation in the Armed Forces, and unlike Veterans Day which honors those who have served in the Armed Forces of our nation in times of war, Memorial Day carries a special place in the heart of this nation because it honors those who gave their lives in combat while our nation was at war. For those who made the supreme sacrifice- giving their very lives so that this nation might live and so that the world might someday be free, we set aside this day each year to remember those whose lives were cut short because they fell in battle when we were at war.
By all means we should show our respect for those who serve in our Armed Forces, and it is well we honor those who once served in the Armed Forces, whether in wartime or not, because each of these individuals heard the call of their country to defend us in times of war and in times of peace. It is altogether fitting that we do so.
With the deepest of respect to all of those men and women who have thus served, it is also incumbent upon each of us to remember the thousands of lives that were sacrificed while serving this nation in times of war because without this ultimate sacrifice, we might not be enjoying the blessings of liberty that we enjoy today as citizens of a free and independent United States of America.
General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing, the Supreme Allied Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, perhaps said it best when he said,
“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”
This quote was once referenced on the main entrance at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, and the lettering was subsequently relocated on a war memorial just outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards, in that same city. Nevertheless, the sentiment rings true, despite the demolition of the stadium where the lettering once reminded us of this sacrifice, and whether or not the lettering even remains, for as long as we remember the true meaning of Memorial Day.
So, whether we rush to take advantage of Memorial Day sales, or choose to spend the day sunning on the beautiful beaches of our country, or enjoy watching Memorial Day parades or even spending time with our friends at our backyard bar-b-ques, let us each resolve to remember all of those men and women who died so that we might live.
Happy Memorial Day, America.
-Drew Nickell, 25 May 2018
© 2018 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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