Memorial Day

[mickeym]

I know for many, Memorial Day is a three-day weekend; a chance to have a great outdoor BBQ with friends and family; the official kick-off of summer. Swimming pools open across the country, and drug stores and supermarkets alike are suddenly stocked with sunscreen and flip-flops.

It's also, and unfortunately this has gotten lost as the years pass, a day to remember those who have fallen in service to their country. To remember, to honor, to mourn.

I grew up surrounded by veterans and their families. My mom worked with the Veterans Administration. My grandfather, himself a WWII veteran, was president of the American Legion in Bronson, MI for many years. During the summer months we stayed with my grandparents frequently, and spent a good deal of that time at the Legion. Memorial Day was the day my grandfather got dressed up and attended services to remember the fallen. I cannot observe this day without remembering him, solemn and quiet, honoring his fallen countrymen and women. Rest in peace, Grandpa. It's been eleven years, and I still miss you.

I found this while looking for something else, and it's a gorgeous rendition of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "America the Beautiful", as well as a stunning video of images that pretty much sum up this country.

Comments

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

wow, i had no clue of that meaning; i grew up with it being a memorial day for all your family/friends who'd passed over (not just those who'd died in service). my (maternal) grandparents told me it that when they were small, families would tidy the graveyards on memorial day, sometimes making a day of it (for cemeteries that weren't maintained by churches/the city/the county/etc; instead families maintained them, and usually people who didn't have a lot of graves to attend to or did them more often and didn't have much work, would also take care of graves that were neglected or abandoned). often people put american flags on the graves, too, especially for anyone who was naturalised.

i know some of my gfather's family died in service, so it wouldn't have been that he didn't have anyone to remember that way. huh.

i've just looked it up and wonder now if how it's celebrated varies by region and background; none of that side of the family is from the south, and they came to the us after the civil war, to calif (by way of canada), nebraska, and chicago.

i feel so clueless for never knowing there was a whole nother country-wide meaning! O.O

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

It may just depend on family level of involvement, I dunno. I think my awareness of it was ratcheted higher because of mom working at the VA -- a lot of the guys she worked with were vets themselves, who'd served during Korea and Vietnam. Then of course, my Grandfather was president of his American Legion post for a good many years, and of course Doug served in the Army, so there was that as well.

I think a lot of people know it as you do, as a memorial day for those who'd passed, whether in service or not, so don't feel clueless :)

If you want more info/background on it, this is a good page: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

that helps, thank you *HUG*

i wonder if it was tied into the thing where my grandfather *never* talked about what he'd done in ww2. he viewed the war as a necessary evil and he was proud to have served his country, but it wasn't something one *talked* about....

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Honestly, it's my experience that most veterans don't talk about what they saw/did/experienced. Doug told me a couple of random things he saw while he was in Saudi (1991, Desert Shield/Desert Storm)...but within a year of his returning, it was never mentioned again, beyond acknowledging he'd been.

A man my mom dated/was involved with for about six years, he was a two-tour 'Nam vet, and he absolutely didn't talk about it. In fact, the only time he even mentioned anything about talking about wartime experiences was to tell me that if Doug wanted to talk about his experiences, he would, and I shouldn't poke. So I didn't.

My grandpa never talked about his experience(s) either, that I can remember. I'm pretty sure that the number of veterans who DO talk about their wartime experiences is seriously dwarfed by the ones who don't.

I do remember when the movie Saving Private Ryan was released, my mom telling me that the VA had to set up a special hotline for war veterans who were triggered by the movie, there were so many of them. The regular lines couldn't handle the increase in traffic.

[rainbow.livejournal.com]

man, i can imagine how triggery spr could have been; i'm heartglad the va did step up and set up a hotline.

*fierce huggings*