NEVER FORGET, FOREVER HONOR THOSE WHO SERVED
Memorial Day, originally known as “Decoration Day” in the South, was established on May 5, 1868 by the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans. Envisioned as an opportunity for the nation to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead, General John Logan declared May 30th as the official date of commemoration, because flower gardens would be in bloom to supply bouquets to decorate the graves. The first Memorial Day ceremonies were held at Arlington National Cemetery as orphans from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home placed flowers on both Union and Confederate graves while reciting prayers and singing hymns.
Decoration Day may not mean much to people now, as it did to my past generations. Many today look forward to a three-day weekend, the opening of local pools, and retail store sales. The significance is not just remembering the military service and sacrifice of those who have died and passed away, it is in remembering how to honor the dead. Our task is to respect the fallen and pass that respect and deep sense of gratitude onto the generations that come after us, the generations that come after them and so on.
To honor those who died in that war many people in England wear a red poppy. The idea for wearing a poppy came from Lt. Col. John McCrae, a young Royal Canadian Army surgeon, who witnessed first hand the devastating cost of the war in Belgium. Expressing his anguish from the back of an ambulance, McCrae penned his poem, “In Flanders Fields,” in 1915. McCrae was killed in action in 1918, shortly before the war ended. The three stanzas of Flanders Fields charge us to hold their torch of duty and remembrance high:
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
We must never forget the sacrifices from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the War Between the States, World War I & II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Shield/Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan and on a thousand other battlefields around the world. The liberty, justice, and prosperity which generations of Americans enjoy come at a great cost. Liberty is purchased with the blood, sweat, and tears of our military veterans, particularly those who gave their lives in defense of our way of life. These precious freedoms are fragile and easily lost. May we always remember those who gave their last full measure of devotion for America this Memorial Day.
