“Cover them over with beautiful flowers;

Deck them with garlands, those brothers of ours,

Lying so silent by night and by day,

Sleeping the years of their manhood away.”

Will Carleton

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Memorial Day is here once again,

It’s time to remember our fallen.

And it doesn’t matter where or when they fell,

They sacrificed everything; they died in war’s hell.

Soldiers don’t make war policy, politicians decide;

They valiantly follow orders, and far too many die.

Please take the time to visit a soldiers’ graveyard,

We can surely do this much – it’s not so very hard.

Place some flowers or a flag on the graves of those now gone,

And then recite a soldier’s prayer, or one of their favorite songs.

And please remember to silently pause on this Memorial Day at Three,

We must never forget their ultimate sacrifice – they died for you and me.

Very sadly, the intended observance of Memorial Day seems to have diminished greatly since my childhood.  Many Americans today seem to have already forgotten the true meaning and traditions of this sacred holiday.  And many of them seem far more interested in yet another three-day weekend, in blissful get-a-ways, and in backyard barbeques and parties.

And at far too many of the national cemeteries I’ve visited over the years, the graves of our heroic fallen are woefully ignored and neglected; and many people don’t even know the proper flag etiquette for the day.

And while there are still a few towns and cities that hold Memorial Day Parades, many haven’t held such observances now in decades.

To help remind all of us of the true meaning of this holiday, the ‘National Moment of Remembrance’ resolution was passed in December 2000.  It asks that at 3 P.M. local time on Memorial Day, all Americans, of all ages: "Voluntarily observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence, or for listening to Taps.”

“It doesn’t take a hero,

To order men into battle;

It takes a hero,

To be one of those men.”

Norman Schwarzkopf

What will you be doing at 3 P.M. today?

Please remember their sacrifice in some way