 |
| After the flags were placed (Sat 23 May 2015). |
Memorial Day should be a solemn day of reflection of those who paid for our country with their lives. Instead, it has become the inauguration of the summer season of hedonism and a long weekend of indulgence. There was a parade on Monday (the "official" holiday) where lip service was paid to surviving veterans, marching bands played patriotic battle songs, and every conceivable children's sports organization marched. It had very little to do with memorializing dead soldiers.
When I moved here a few years ago, I discovered a call for volunteers to place flags on the graves of veterans in the town cemetery (i.e., decorate the graves, hence the original name: Decoration Day). I've done this three of four years (I missed one year due to rain).
Most of the veterans buried here survived their wars and died later.
It was really tough this year to place the flags in the ground because the dirt was dry as a rock. Should've brought a screw driver or something.
I love this cemetery. It is so peaceful, like a park. Fascinating head stones and markers. I feel sad when I see a stone marker obviously intended for a couple but only one spouse is listed. I wonder what happened: did the surviving spouse remarry? did the family just never get around to updating the marker? Of course, in some cases, it is possible that the remaining spouse is still alive. I wonder about the story for each person.
Rest in peace. I hope that God loves you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day
Written Sunday 31 May 2015
