A time to remember

I have never been to a genealogical site like Ancestry.com to confirm this, but insofar as I know I have no relatives who have perished defending America in battle. I did not serve in the military as I came of age in a time of peace when the draft was unnecessary, while my father was drafted into the Army at the perfect time between Korea and Vietnam. He served his two-year hitch down in Georgia as I recall. Then he came home to Ohio, married my mom, and had three sons so it was lucky for me that he didn’t become someone we would remember on Memorial Day.

Unfortunately, those who were born in different eras may have been touched multiple times. Imagine a family where their boys were born in the late 1890s, making them just the right age to fight the Kaiser in the Great War (World War I.) The survivors come home and have kids in the early 1920s, making them a prime age to go fight Hitler and the Japs in World War II. Those who made it through that war would have had kids right afterward (the earliest Baby Boomers) and the oldest among them were drafted to go to Vietnam. It’s funny – just this evening we ran into an acquaintance whose husband is ill from Agent Orange. Both of them are around 70 years of age, and it reminds us the youngest Vietnam veterans are becoming eligible for Social Security. (They are also the last draftees, as we have featured an all-volunteer military for over 40 years.)

Without glossing over the sacrifices thousands have made in subsequent military operations such as Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Enduring Freedom, and so forth, being so far removed from a major war where everyone was involved and our very existence was at stake – such as World War II – along with the idea of always having the holiday on a Monday, has created a Memorial Day weekend that is more about having the extra day off than about remembering those who died fighting for our freedom. As I noted before, it’s a burden not equally shared among generations, let alone families. Nor is Memorial Day about the living veterans, as they have their own day in November – but those who served likely lost a brother by another mother in conflict, so they are due that measure of respect.

For many years I have attended two events during Memorial Day weekend – the Concert for a Random Soldier held in Long Neck, Delaware, and the local veterans memorial service at our Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Unfortunately, there is a serious threat of rain and even thunderstorms during both events this year so I hope other arrangements are being made. (While it’s been sweltering and humid on many occasions, I don’t recall it ever raining on the Wicomico County ceremony since I started attending them 11 years ago.) Our family gathering may be forced inside as well.

But somewhere it will be sunny for Memorial Day, and wherever that place is should be reverent in spending the day. Our fallen heroes deserve no less.