Each year during the month of May, Memorial Day arrives as a quiet reminder of the courage, sacrifice, and unwavering dedication of the men and women who gave their lives while serving in the US military. It’s more than a three-day weekend and to even say ‘Happy Memorial Day’ feels like a stab in the heart to all who died in the line of duty, and their loved ones. It is not a happy day, it is a National Day of Remembrance, a day when we pause to honor those who never made it home. We lower our flags, we speak their names, and we tell their stories to ensure the legacies of our heroes live on – honoring their sacrifice.
Memorial Day originated after the Civil War, then called Decoration Day, when Americans would decorate soldiers’ graves with flowers then in 1868, General John A. Logan designated May 30th as the first National Day of Remembrance. Over the years, this date expanded to honor all fallen service members and in 1971, Congress established it as a federal holiday falling on the last Monday in May.
Being from a veteran and military family, holidays such as this are an important part of my life yet I’m aware that the average person may not pay as much attention to the history and meaning behind them. My grandfather served in the US Navy on the only ship to get underway during the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. He had just turned 18 years of age, manning the guns as she, the USS Nevada, fought to survive, then beach at Ford Island. My grandfather was burnt, lying on the beach, and remembered a family in a station wagon stopping to pick him up, delivering him to Tripler Army Medical Center. He recalled the new car small to his dying day. My father served in the US Army, a Drill Sergeant at Fort Polk training troops that were sent to Vietnam. Uncles in the USMC. Cousins in the USAF. Relatives in the USCG. Memorial Day means a lot to me – and that’s an understatement. How fortunate I was that my grandfather made it home. How fortunate was I that my father made it home – not only from the US Army, but the fire service, as well. I was blessed, yet countless families were not so lucky. Many lost their fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, family and friends – too many fully comprehend what Memorial Day stands for.
To commemorate this day, many visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen military service members, others attend parades or community ceremonies, and those of us from a family of veterans and active military take part in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 pm ET.
This year, I invite everyone to take note of why we have a three-day weekend. Yes, it is the unofficial kickoff to summer – though the weather doesn’t always catch-up until late June, or even early July. We ready our beach cottages or lake homes, plan barbecues and family gatherings. We dust off the deck furniture and start cleaning up our yards. Yet will we remember why we’re afforded this extra time? Will we be reminded of the ultimate sacrifice our fallen service members made while protecting our freedom?
Remembrance should not be limited to one date on the calendar. We can keep alive the legacies of our fallen service members in the freedoms we practice, the communities we build, and what we carry forward. We must strive to be a nation that always values unity, compassion, and the quiet strength that binds us together.
