Honoring Our Heroes

It's Memorial Day. This is the day set aside each year to honor those who died while serving in the United States military. While it's become more familiar as the unofficial start of the summer season, it's actually a sacred and solemn day.

 Do you know much about Memorial Day? It was originally known as Decoration Day, for the flowers, wreaths, and flags placed on graves, and began as a day to honor those who died in the Civil War. In early May, 1868, General John A. Logan, the leader of an organization for Northern veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance on May 30. He chose that date because it did not correspond to any particular battle. 

From 1868 to 1970, the observance was on May 30. Over time, it came to be known as Memorial Day, and was extended to honor the dead of all American conflicts. Since 1971, we have observed Memorial Day on the last Monday in May, which has led to the three-day weekend becoming a celebration unto itself. Some veterans' groups and others have long lobbied to return the holiday to May 30, to keep the focus upon its history and purpose.

Since WWI, the red poppy has been a symbol of remembrance for those fallen in war.

Like everything else going on in our world, Memorial Day will be different his year. The traditional parades through city or town have been cancelled, as have public commemorative ceremonies at all national cemeteries. Here in Portland, the only official observance at Willamette National Cemetery will come when the cemetery director privately lays a wreath at the foot of the flagpole. 

Last night was the National Memorial Day Concert. PBS has been broadcasting this event since its inception in 1989. Unlike the live presentations of years past, last night's streamed concert was a mix of private, socially distanced, performances and recordings from prior years. With one other new feature: a tribute to first responders, medical providers, and essential workers. If you missed it, you can watch the concert here: National Memorial Day Concert

I don't know about you, but I was not aware of the National Moment of Remembrance Act. Signed by President Clinton in 2000, the Act declares 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day as a moment of silence for those who have died in military service. "Congress called on the people of the United States," the Act says, to observe this annual ritual "in a symbolic act of unity...."  Hasn't that notion taken on all new meaning lately?

Perhaps you have already been participating in the communal cheers and applause for front line workers each evening. Back on March 21, I wrote about the people who were cheering the medical providers from their balconies in Spain. Now there's cheering in my neighborhood.
Here's another sign we've recently seen on our daily walks.

The cheers are one way to express our deep gratitude for service and sacrifice. On Memorial Day, it seems fitting to also take a minute to honor and thank not only our fallen military members, but all those who have been working so hard to keep us safe, to heal us, and to make sure that we have essential services during this hard time. 

 However you mark this day, perhaps you will join me at 3:00 p.m. local time in paying tribute to our military casualties and to our current heroes, as well. And if you are a member of a Gold Star family, my heart goes out to you on this day of remembrance.

 Until tomorrow, stay safe, and be healthy. 

 Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma


Comments

cathy howell said…
I spoke with Bitz last night and this is the first Memorial Day in decades that the Boy Scouts haven't placed flags at each tombstone up in Willamette National Cemetery ... not that the Boy Scouts haven't had a crappy enough year.
May 25, 2020 at 11:29 AM
Cheryll Simmerman said…
Thanks so much for posting the link to the annual federal Memorial Day Concert, Nancie! I didn't catch it last night, so just finished watching it. I think I used at least half a box of tissues. I do have very mixed emotions about war veterans...(not, however, about Covid-19 heros)...simply because we should never have had all these wars to start with...but the reality is that we did have all these wars. My father served in WWII, the European theatre, and I am convinced that he suffered for most of his adult life from PTSD, something people didn't recognize or talk about back then. It would occasionally surface and cause the family great pain and anxiety, but we had no idea why he was "acting out," so to speak. I have made my peace with it, little by little, but not an easy thing for a young kid.
May 26, 2020 at 10:13 AM
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