Another Memorial Day is upon us: a day for remembrance, a day for honoring, a day for thanking, a day for showing pride, and a day for decorating, both literally and symbolically. As we celebrate this, and hopefully all Memorial Days, we stop to remember all those who gave of themselves to protect and defend the freedoms marked by the symbol of our country, Our Flag, Old Glory, The Stars and Stripes, The Red, White, and Blue.
As Memorial Day was once known as Decoration Day, we find ourselves decorating the graves of those who served in our armed forces, who fought to protect the Constitution of the United States, and its meaning of freedom. We believe in the words of that document, and have defended/will defend the ideals of freedom on American soil and in countries where freedom is or has been threatened. The decoration of those graves, with the wreaths and flowers, with the flags and markers, symbolizes the decorations of so many who bravely served, some returning home maimed, either physically or mentally, and decorated with medal or ribbon, some returning in a casket draped with the stars and stripes, and some returning unscathed (on the outside), sadly, yet pridefully, "decorated" with the memories of what they had been through in their service to Country, God, and Man.
It doesn't matter what conflict in which an ancestor and/or loved one may have been involved, be it the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish/American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf Conflict, or the wars in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, so many unselfishly put it all out there to preserve and protect decency, humanity, and freedom.
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As we sit or stand and watch the parades pass us by this Memorial Day, may we remember the many men and women who have marched into battle and endured the conditions of war and conflict, so all of the many could, and can, enjoy the choices they were/are able to make in their lives.
As we sit ready to enjoy the picnics we have planned on this Memorial Day, may we remember those soldiers who also ate their meals outdoors, often times not by choice, as they sat in bunkers, foxholes, ditches, woods, and/or swamps in the service to their uniform and what it represents/represented.
As we visit the graves of those who have served in any conflict with which America has been involved, may we look at the colors of the flowers which adorn said gravesite and think of the rainbow ribbons which were pinned on the chests of so many of the brave, and as we look at the colors of the flag which adorn that gravesite and so many more, may we remember why our fallen or deceased loved one and member of our military fought and gave so much to defend those colors and what that symbol of our country means and for what we stand.
When we celebrate a holiday, often times we get the day off from work or school, so it is imperative that we stop and ponder why we get the day off, what the real meaning of celebrating the day is, and who did what to allow us to celebrate that meaning of the day. In November, we celebrate the contributions of veterans, yet most of the veterans are working on that day and where a lot of non-veterans get to enjoy a day off from work or school. That doesn't seem to make much sense, but on Memorial Day, as with the Fourth of July, when even veterans do get the day off, we need to realize why, and appreciate those who made the meaning of the day possible.
We use words like memorial, memory, remember, honor, salute, appreciate, decorate, adorn and respect when celebrating Memorial Day. These words are not just meant to be casually uttered as their meanings are the backbone of what this day means to our country. They must be said with reverence and depth of heart, the same reverence and depth of heart with which those who served stood their ground against the forces who tried to defeat them.
As you make plans to celebrate this Memorial Day of 2012, please remember to rise as the flag of our country passes, remember to respect it with reverence by removing your hat, or by placing a hand over your heart, or saluting it as it flutters in the breeze, as by these gestures you symbolically salute the men and women who gave service to this country and fought in service to our allies and for those being forced to become slaves to political ideologies which contradict(ed) the meaning of our flag. If you see or encounter a person in uniform, salute them, shake their hand, and/or thank them for the sacrifices they have made, or prepare to make, to keep the strong tradition and ideals of the United States of America, and keep them alive and well in the world today.
God bless all those who served and all those who serve, and God bless the U.S.A!!