Honoring fallen soldiers by decorating their graves actually began during the Civil War. When I was a kid it was called Decoration Day. It was observed on May 30 of each year. I remember my grandmother telling me about the day. It’s a day to place flowers on the graves of fallen heroes, she said. Almost everyone of her generation knew of or was related to someone who had fallen in battle. It was a very solemn and serious day. We would all dress up in our Sunday best and travel to the cemetery to place flowers on graves.
Today it is called Memorial Day. Instead of observing the day on May 30, we now pick the last Monday of the month of May. This has happened because of the National Holiday Act of 1971. This act changed several holidays from their original dates to the closest Monday thereby creating a three-day weekend.
I am OK with the name change. I’m even OK with the date change. Before I retired, I looked forward, as do most, to a three-day weekend. My problem is what this very solemn and special day of remembrance has become.
Now it’s the beginning of the “cookout” season. It begins the summer. It’s the start of vacations. To many it’s the end of the school year. It is and has become something different from what was intended. Retailers advertise special sales all trying to take advantage of people being off work for a day. Sadly, I suspect the cemeteries see only the older generation bearing flowers decorating graves.
In some small towns though there are still parades. In some areas there are still poppy sales. The wearing of poppies was inspired by a poem written by Moina Michael in 1915 called “In Flanders Fields.” The poem follows:
“We cherish too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.”
She went on to wear and inspire others to wear poppies on Decoration Day to honor fallen heroes. All this seems alien to today’s generation.
Today we are seeing some young people desecrating our flag. They denigrate our veterans. They seemingly have no knowledge of or interest in our history. They appear to believe they deserve their lives of freedom with no effort or sacrifice on their part. If they only knew.
Those who refuse to learn from our history are bound to repeat it. Why do our young people refuse to learn how we came about and what it took to create this great human experiment known as America? Have schools stopped teaching American History? One of my favorite Thomas Jefferson quotes is, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” I would add the patriots who shed that blood must never be forgotten or disregarded. That is what Memorial Day is all about.
At my house we will have a cookout. I will have family over for the meal. As is our custom, we will have a prayer of grace before we eat. That prayer will be for our country. That prayer will be for our troops still in harm’s way. And that prayer will be for all the misguided people living in this great country who take their lives here for granted. We will ask and hope they come to understand how blessed they are to be Americans. We can only hope and pray.
