-Alemaster
Friday, May 23, 2025
Preparation and Reflections for Memorial Day
On Monday most of you will be flooded with good articles properly honoring the servicemembers who sacrificed their lives in the service of this Country. I wanted to give you a little something ahead of time, along with a modest suggestion of a way to spend a little time between now and then that may aid your reflection on what they gave for their comrades-in-arms and for the Country.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
That was well done, and on point. It's not about the brass, but about the grunts who held the line and did their jobs unto death. May they rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteIt's about those who gave all and we owe them respect for that...
ReplyDeleteJD.
In Nam we used to talk about going back to the world and getting Harleys. Then meeting up and riding the wind. I think we all knew this would not happen but it made for great dreams. I ended up owning several Harleys. I never, ever missed a Memorial Day riding with my boys. Of course I was alone but they were on that bike in spirit. I rode Memorial Day. Not Saturday or Sunday but Monday, Memorial Day. Oddly there was never any traffic. All the party people I guess were nursing hangovers or on the Interstate headed home. What traffic I did see were Harleys a flag or flags flying. The side wave or a nod as we passed. We knew why we were out there on Monday. The real Memorial Day. I remember asking my boys, are we having fun? Of course they were and as said, they were not there but in spirit. I stopped riding when I hit seventy. Sold all my stuff. However, every Monday is dedicated to remembering those guys. Serving with them was the greatest honor of my life. Too many didn't come home. Never will they be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI'm 73, and I'll be out there riding the Deluxe on Monday with flag flying. I'll hoist one for you, if you don't mind, after visiting the memorial in Portland.
DeleteMemorial Day is difficult for me. It is a somber day of remembrance. It is a bittersweet thankfulness. Yes, not forgotten.
ReplyDeletePlus, my battle scarred career Marine dad passed on this day. Not on the field, but his daily battle was finished.
Exactly. Some people take decades to die from mental or physical wounds from battle.
DeleteOn Memorial Day I will walk down the road to an old Family (not mine) Cemetery with my trumpet. It will be just my Wife and I. There is a Civil War MOH buried there and we will honor him and I will sound Taps. Last year we found a second Civil War soldier and will also pay our respects. The Legion does place a Flag. One year we went down and the last surviving family member had placed a history there, I contacted him and he was pleased that someone remembered. I still have that history but the family member has since passed. This is our way of also remembering my friend and fellow soldier killed while we were in Iraq. At all holiday gatherings my toast includes inviting Harry to sit and drink, eat and be, if only in my thoughts. We all owe them to live a good life that they never had the opportunity for.
ReplyDeleteI still miss my friend. KIA, Vietnam. It's sobering to think my youngest child is twice his age. RIP, Paul.
ReplyDeleteWell worth the read. This story should make every American stop and reflect on how blessed we truly are. Thank you for the post.
ReplyDeleteSomber Holliday.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first year we won't have the death of a USS Arizona survivor. Last one, Lou Conter, died in 2024. Her crew roster is finally eternally full.
ReplyDelete