I appreciate this. Memorial Day irks me. I have sometimes thought of going to our local Memorial Day event and going, uninvited, to the mic to give a differing perspective on it all.
My dad was one of the ones you write of. He was killed in Vietnam when he, a medic, volunteered to go on a night patrol in place of a sick soldier. The man in front of him stepped on a land mine and my dad was killed in the blast.
My comment is under “Dad, I never got to know you”
Another aspect that irks me is how “Memorial Day” has been turned into a holiday celebration. What should be a sobering and solemn event is turned into a three-day vacation full of fun. If people really think Memorial Day is about honoring/remembering those who, as they suppose, have died for their freedom, where is the honoring, the remembering, the appreciating?
I appreciate your perspective and agree that the day has been commodified in Memorial Day sales and can be somewhat of a spectacle. I would only add that there are many who do choose to celebrate the day the way we celebrate the lives of those we love when they pass in general. Perhaps celebrating the lives of those fallen is a proper salute to their sacrifice when done in honor of them. Have a wonderful day.
I wish there was more recognition and focus on why most of the wars in our history have happened and the senseless loss of life. I don’t believe ALL wars are wrong. There are evil people doing evil things and sometimes it’s unavoidable due to sin being in the world, but people, Americans, seem generally completely oblivious to the motivations and machinations behind most of our wars.
Rich men making money off of other men’s blood.
I think an appropriate way to honor these men would be to find one of their family members and do something for them. Maybe split some wood, do some yard clean-up, or something else they need help with.
Well said.
I appreciate this. Memorial Day irks me. I have sometimes thought of going to our local Memorial Day event and going, uninvited, to the mic to give a differing perspective on it all.
My dad was one of the ones you write of. He was killed in Vietnam when he, a medic, volunteered to go on a night patrol in place of a sick soldier. The man in front of him stepped on a land mine and my dad was killed in the blast.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/45581/ERNEST-E-SANVILLE/
My comment is under “Dad, I never got to know you”
Another aspect that irks me is how “Memorial Day” has been turned into a holiday celebration. What should be a sobering and solemn event is turned into a three-day vacation full of fun. If people really think Memorial Day is about honoring/remembering those who, as they suppose, have died for their freedom, where is the honoring, the remembering, the appreciating?
I appreciate your perspective and agree that the day has been commodified in Memorial Day sales and can be somewhat of a spectacle. I would only add that there are many who do choose to celebrate the day the way we celebrate the lives of those we love when they pass in general. Perhaps celebrating the lives of those fallen is a proper salute to their sacrifice when done in honor of them. Have a wonderful day.
I wish there was more recognition and focus on why most of the wars in our history have happened and the senseless loss of life. I don’t believe ALL wars are wrong. There are evil people doing evil things and sometimes it’s unavoidable due to sin being in the world, but people, Americans, seem generally completely oblivious to the motivations and machinations behind most of our wars.
Rich men making money off of other men’s blood.
I think an appropriate way to honor these men would be to find one of their family members and do something for them. Maybe split some wood, do some yard clean-up, or something else they need help with.