Decoration Day was always a big deal in our house when I was a child. It was right up there with all of the major holidays -- Easter, Christmas, Fourth of July. Getting gussied up, packing a picnic and flowers and visiting the country cemetery where six generations of my family rested was the schedule for the day.
"Memorial Day" didn't come into my vocabulary until I was older. Though some began calling it such in the 1880s, the moniker wasn't official until 1967. When it began after the Civil War, it was a day to decorate the graves of those who died in the war and to remember and honor their sacrifice.
Today, Memorial Day has evolved. We take time to enjoy the freedoms we have, like heading to the lake (it is the official beginning of summer after all), barbecuing or watching air shows and parades.
Getting to the cemetery is more elusive. I don't live near that little country cemetery anymore, so I don't get there as often. But all I have to see at the local big box retailer are those artificial flower wreaths and I'm right where I'm supposed to be in my mind -- that country cemetery.
From the 4,435 deaths in the Revolutionary War to the 66 deaths most recently in Operation New Dawn, more than 1.2 million Americans have died defending our freedoms, according to the Memorial Day Foundation. The war with the highest loss of life was the Civil War at 563,621. More than 42 million have served in time of war.
As I watch the jets and "antique" aircraft buzz by overhead during the Memorial Day parade, I think of those who flew them for their intended purpose and how the experience in the cockpits must have been for them. For many years, I had the honor of watching my father-in-law ride a float in the parade. He was a World War II submarine veteran. Remembering was important to him.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law the National Moment of Remembrance Act. The Act requires all Americans to pause for a moment of silence at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day to remember those who have sacrificed in defense of the freedoms all Americans enjoy.
Barbecues, parades and cemetery visits aside, just remembering, perhaps that is the ultimate tribute.
Community on 05/21/2015