Memorial Day: Honor, Remember, Never Forget!

5/27/21 Chatterbox by Betty Kaiser  

              

Memorial Day is coming up! This year the bittersweet holiday falls on Monday May 31. All together, on this one day of the year, we can gratefully honor the tens of thousands of men and women who fought and died for our country in approximately 93 wars and rebellions. 

 

It is our yearly opportunity to say “thank you” to those guardians of peace. It is a day of remembrance and sorrow mixed with pride and appreciation and hope that someday the madness will stop. A day to reflect and remember that those heroes died for you and me.

 

Memorial Day’s history is about 160 years old. After the Civil War, it began as a grass roots occasion called National Decoration Day. On May 20, 1868 over 5,000 people decorated the graves of the 29,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were buried at Arlington National Ceremony. A tribute to both the North and South sides of the conflict.

 

In 1968, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of CongressMay 30 was the official date until 1971 when Congress changed it to the last Monday in May. Now it is celebrated in almost every country where American soldiers are buried. Flags on government buildings and ships throughout the world are lowered to half-mast, as a tribute to those who lost their lives.

 

This weekend, prior to the holiday, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment will honor America's fallen heroes by placing American flags at thousands of gravesites for service members buried at Arlington National Cemetery and at the Airmen's Home National Cemetery. 

 

The most solemn Memorial Day ceremony is when the President of the United States lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Other dignitaries also pay their formal respects. All flags will be removed after Memorial Day, before the cemetery opens to the public.

 

To remember military sacrifices is a sacred charge. Thanks to the Covid-19 situation, things will be a little different around the country this year. There will be fewer parades and public gatherings. But there is one thing that we can stop and do together wherever we are:

 

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3:00 pm local time on Memorial Day for one minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the US.

There are also other things that we can do to honor those who died serving our country. The following suggestions come from a variety of sources including Military.com USO. Pay special attention to the timing of flying the flag. 

 

Do this: 

 Display the flag—the U.S. flag is flown at half-staff from dawn until noon on Memorial Day. Raise it again to the peak after noon.

1. Call a friend or loved one who has lost someone during a war.
2. Visit a cemetery and honor the memory of a family member or other veteran by putting flowers on their grave.
3. Watch the National Memorial Day Concert on your local PBS station.

 Here are some reminders of things not to do:   

1. Don’t wish anyone a Happy Memorial Day. This is not Christmas.   
2. Don’t thank the current troops. Veteran’s Day is coming up!
3.  Don’t let politics keep you from rendering respect.

 

                    God bless America! Let freedom ring!

                 Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox by email bchatty@bettykaiser.com