5/24/24
Memorial of Memorial Day
by Amber V Moonstone
Do we truly know the importance of this day?
Who are we memorializing?
The father, son, grandson that served and died for our country?
The mother, daughter, granddaughter that served and died for our country?
Did you know that it was originally called "Decoration Day"?
Did you know that it was recognized as early as the 1860s after the Civil War?
Did you know that it's inappropriate to thank a service member on this day?
Did you know that it's an unofficial start to the summer season?
Did you know that it was offcially declared a national holiday in 1971?
It is a day for remembering and honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country!
Share
Print
Save
Follow
I recall going to the cemetery as a child on Memorial Day with my parents. My mother's brother, a local World War II paratrooper and war hero was part of the honor guard who would fire their rifles in the solemn ceremony that lasted only about an hour before we went to have a family get together for the rest of the day, grateful to be off work. I remember jumping out of my skin when I heard the loud report from those rifles. It must've been terrible during the war.
Unfortunately, my uncle had a very bad case of PTSD. He was an alcoholic and his trucking business was failing. He left his 2nd wife and 5 children behind to take off with a local barmaid who also left 5 children for California and a life of hiding In California and retirement in Boise Idaho. He died about 1989. When his wife died about 2003, her children, through a private investigator, found her and the house they lived in that they had given to their next-door neighbors. There were pictures and documents in the house so all of the children finally knew what happened to their father and mother.
After that, living in Wisconsin Memorial Day was the first day when everyone rushed off to local parks or private cottages on lakes and generally got three days of too much sun and sunburn. Like you wrote, the first day of summer in that part of our world. When I was working at TSU, we worked that day because we took Juneteenth off instead of Memorial Day. After work, I left early and my wife and I drove out to a state park where almost no one else was there. Most people around here like to head to the beach in Galveston. It is always very crowded. I member doing that one day and glad I never did again.
Ron