So... Memorial Day is for, well, memorials. To Soldiers. Dead ones. And Sailors and Marines and Airmen, but all of them dead. Not died at home peacefully at age 88, but at age 18 in a rice paddy in the Mekong Delta, bleeding out and drowning simultaneously. At age 22 on a dirt road south of Baghdad, blown to so many pieces we never found them all. At 27 fully aflame as their B-17 plowed into the German countryside. For some, death was the merciful end to their final horrific few moments. Others, thankfully, never knew what hit them.
But it is not "Happy." For those of us who've come home with fewer friends than we left with, it is anything but. You wouldn't say "Happy Day of your Sister's funeral," would you?
It also is not a vacation day, per se. It is a holiday, yes, but the root of holiday is holy day - holy as in hallowed. I honestly would not be even vaguely bothered to learn that every mattress store and car dealership in America didn't sell a damned thing for the next 96 hours. I wish every store in town would put a sign on the door saying "closed from 10-2 on Memorial Day to attend a ceremony, you should be there too."
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I find myself increasingly annoyed by car commercials and the like that are capitalizing on the holiday that was born of the blood of William Wood (son of Jimmy Wood) and Glenn Watkins (brother of Pauline Watkins), Bobby Ray Hill, Shakere Guy, Paul Neubauer, Jerry Bonifacio and some other damned fine men with whom I'd give just about anything so as to have another conversation. And that's not counting all the guys from Kunar whose medevacs and immediate suppression calls we heard in the TOC.
So, please do enjoy the day off with your family. Have a barbecue by all means. Go crazy and buy that new Accord for 5% below MSRP. But please take the time to REMEMBER. Not just "oh yeah, kids, remember this is a day for all the veterans." But actually take the time to find a ceremony and SACRIFICE some of your enjoyment. That is a true memorial.
This is a day for the dead, and those they left behind. No amount of "thanking" the living will provide even vaguely the honor, respect and courtesy that would be accorded by sacrificing your time to preserve their memory.
Monrovia's Memorial Day Ceremony is Monday at 10:00 at Live Oak Park. I hope to see you there.
