Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have died in service to their country.

Many towns and villages began to honor those who fought and died during the War Between the States. Some while the war ground on and some when the smoke finally cleared exposing the horrific sacrifices of so many.

“…Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General order #11. The day was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May…”

So many lives cut short in service to their country.
Worldwide there are similar celebrations honoring, and immortalizing, people who gave their lives for a cause they deemed greater than the continuation of their life.
Lives sacrificing all that could be.
That moment with a loved one embracing the future, as if you owned it, gone in a flash of unheard light.
Taking your child’s hand as you cross the road erased from the future, by present urgencies, demanding you do things you never believed possible.
The stories, true and fabricated, that mold a family history, now include an abrupt footnote for many.
All gone in the snap of uncaring time!

It is right to honor so many that gave up so much. Lives traded so the present generation can struggle with creating a world that doesn’t need armed conflict as a ready resolution to disputes.

Thank you for fighting for Irish freedom, for the Union Army, against the Kaiser and his hordes, against the Nazis and the Japanese.
I only knew a few of you – I wish I had known all of you.
Thank you to those friends who lost so much of their innocence in Viet Nam. Some stayed there forever, and some returned to their homes trying to carry a burden only those who were there comprehend.
Past and present conflicts tearing at our youth, chewing them up faster than they can be raised to serve.

Honor life while rejecting death.

Perhaps the greatest honor we can bless the dead with is the promise to quit killing them in the future.