Thoughts On Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day, first observed on May 30, 1868, declared a national holiday by Congress and, since 1971, celebrated on the last Monday in May. It also marks the unofficial beginning of summer when families enjoy a long weekend of outdoor activities. In the process, I hope you’ll all remember what it commemorates by remembering and honoring those who gave their lives defending our freedoms in the service of country.
While preparing this post, I thought about the 272 words so eloquently delivered by President Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg when he paid tribute to the honored dead who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. In that memorable address, he summarized what we today celebrate as Memorial Day.
I thought, too, about my family’s long history in this country. Our ancestors arrived in the Massachusetts colony around 1630. That an ancestor of ours has fought in nearly every conflict in which this country has engaged is highly probable. It is documented that one ancestor fell at Gettysburg, so Lincoln’s words hold special meaning for our family.
I thought of my father who, though still with us, served proudly as a B-29 pilot during WWII. It was my pride in him and his service to country that made me want to follow in his footsteps. I thought of my brother, Ken, and my daughter, Shannon, who served in the U.S. Navy, and how proud I am of them both. I thought of all my ancestors, known and unknown, who have served in the fight for freedom…
I thought of Rich, a high school classmate of mine who joined the Marines right after graduation and was killed in Vietnam shortly after his reenlistment. I thought of Mary McHugh whose fiancé, Sgt. James Regan, was buried last year in Section 60, the newest portion of Arlington National Cemetery. Regan, a U.S. Army Ranger, was killed by an improvised explosive devise in Iraq. The moving photo above was taken May 27, 2007, by photographer John Moore when Mary visited his grave.
“He deployed to Afghanistan and to Iraq — twice each in the last three years — and they planned on marrying as soon as he finished his four years of service. But one February day, Jimmy was killed by an IED, a roadside bomb and…her life, of course, changed forever.” - John Moore
Finally, I thought of the countless members of our armed forces who, over the centuries, have died in service to this country for our ideal of freedom. I extend my respect, admiration and gratitude to America’s warriors, past, present and future. God bless them all.
I’ll close this post with two stanzas from The Navy Hymn:
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe’er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
May God grant peace to this world and serenity to those who have fallen and to their loved ones. Amen.
Remember to check out the other Patriotic Journeyers… Drumwaster, The Bastage and the folks at The Line Is Here.
Doug
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What a moving post! God bless our fallen soldiers and God bless America!
Very moving post. It brought tears to my eyes. Someone needs to say something, I am glad you did.
Memorial Day Sonnet
If Liberty means anything to me,
I will remember what my freedom cost,
By those who gave their all to keep me free,
Whose lives were sacrificed, but never lost.
I will remind myself of what they did,
And keep them dearly cherished in my heart;
Their honor never from me shall be hid
And I will know they always did their part
To save our nation and its people here,
To pledge their lives in defense of our ways,
To show that freedom always outlives fear,
And sacrifice is hallowed all our days.
If Liberty means anything to me,
I will remember those who kept me free.
© John Stuart 2008
Pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church,
Knoxville, Tennessee
http://media.libsyn.com/media/stushie/Memorial_Day.mp3
Great post! Thank you!
Dear Lord, lest I continue in my complacent ways,
help me to remember that someone died for me today.
And if there be war,
help me to remember to ask and to answer
“Am I worth dying for?”
Thank you for remembering what Memorial Day is really, truly about. Well said.
I wish everyone remembered this day as you do. We go to our local national cemetery for memorial day celebrations every year.
A wonderful post on memorial day.
Amen!!!
To all my fellow veterans, past and present, peace and blessings this Memorial Day.
I think this is appropriate for today, Mark Twain's "The War Prayer," which he only allowed to be published after his death.
http://www.lnstar.com/mall/literature/warpray.htm
Your beautiful post made me cry. God bless our veterans who gave all and God bless their loved ones.
I am proud to be an American.
Thanks for all the great posts!
I am envious of those of you living in towns with parades and ceremonies today. Austin does not seem to bother with such things. (Though we do have a great Veterans' Day Parade every November.)
A Memorial Day request: Operation Gratitude has shipped over 360,000 care packages to the troops deployed overseas, but after this weekend we have some 4700 packages prepared for which we don't have service members' addresses yet.
If you have a relative, friend or acquaintance serving overseas, and you'd like them to get a care package, send their deployment address to Operation Gratitude and they will be shipped on a first-come, first-serve basis.
http://www.opgratitude.com/
A very nice post, Doug, even got ME to tear up!
The photo and story really bring the message home, Doug!! We think about Memorial Day in abstracts, like the Civil War and WW2 so long ago. Even Vietnam is in the distant past. But this poor young woman, laying across her fiance's grave, my god, that did me in!!
God bless our troops, past and present, and God bless those who died in the service to our country. And God bless their loved ones left behind!!
Wonderful post. God bless our heroes and God bless America!
Well Done!!
“Let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for... Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.”
—Ronald Reagan