The Reason for the Season
May. 28th, 2004 09:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puppetmakerMemorial Day Weekend is already upon us. Ariel is off from school today through Monday. People are making plans for this “first weekend of the summer season”. I know that the trains are going to be a mess all day out to the Hamptons and to Fire Island. Out on the east end of the Island, they are ramping up for the influx of visitors who make up a lot of the local income during the summer months.
As someone else on a list I belong to said “Memorial Day was created to honor those fallen in battle, to remember their sacrifice. Don't forget them.” I feel like they have been forgotten. This weekend a memorial for veterans of World War II is being unveiled to very mixed reviews from those who have seen it. I know that my neighbor received an invitation to come since he is a W.W.II vet. He passed because of his wife’s health. My uncle is going to be there. He flew bombers over Italy during the War. He lost a number of friends and comrades during those runs. He once showed me a model of the plane that he flew and the medals he had earned. He told me that he wish he hadn’t earned a couple of them and rather the people who died around him had made it home. I think that was the only time we have discussed the war he was in. But it gave me a touchstone for the people who were involved in World War II.
The same person who brought to the lists attention gave some suggestions on how to honor our war dead. Give blood. Find your Red Cross donation center in your area and give blood. There is a national critical shortage for many types of blood that are needed. I know that some people can’t or are not allowed to give blood, but if you can I think you should. Another suggestion was to go to the local memorial graveyard and pick up some trash. As they stated “The dead have feelings too, and just because they aren't here to nag you, doesn't mean they don't want their headstone cleaned up.” If you see a vet say “Thank you”. Support your local parade if there is one in your area. Cheer for the men and women who tried to make a difference.
Let’s bring Memorial Day back to the reason for the Holiday rather than the start of Memorial Day Sales, 1/2 days at work on Friday, and summer vacation. Take a moment and think about the ultimate sacrifice that was made by so many Americans who probably would have liked to have been called a vet rather than a battlefield statistic.
As someone else on a list I belong to said “Memorial Day was created to honor those fallen in battle, to remember their sacrifice. Don't forget them.” I feel like they have been forgotten. This weekend a memorial for veterans of World War II is being unveiled to very mixed reviews from those who have seen it. I know that my neighbor received an invitation to come since he is a W.W.II vet. He passed because of his wife’s health. My uncle is going to be there. He flew bombers over Italy during the War. He lost a number of friends and comrades during those runs. He once showed me a model of the plane that he flew and the medals he had earned. He told me that he wish he hadn’t earned a couple of them and rather the people who died around him had made it home. I think that was the only time we have discussed the war he was in. But it gave me a touchstone for the people who were involved in World War II.
The same person who brought to the lists attention gave some suggestions on how to honor our war dead. Give blood. Find your Red Cross donation center in your area and give blood. There is a national critical shortage for many types of blood that are needed. I know that some people can’t or are not allowed to give blood, but if you can I think you should. Another suggestion was to go to the local memorial graveyard and pick up some trash. As they stated “The dead have feelings too, and just because they aren't here to nag you, doesn't mean they don't want their headstone cleaned up.” If you see a vet say “Thank you”. Support your local parade if there is one in your area. Cheer for the men and women who tried to make a difference.
Let’s bring Memorial Day back to the reason for the Holiday rather than the start of Memorial Day Sales, 1/2 days at work on Friday, and summer vacation. Take a moment and think about the ultimate sacrifice that was made by so many Americans who probably would have liked to have been called a vet rather than a battlefield statistic.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 02:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 02:20 pm (UTC)