General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I said this last year and it deserves repeating. We didn't fight for your freedom. [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)It really has nothing to do with those of us who served and are this side of the sod. It's not about good wars or bad wars. It's not about "freedom" or flag-waving. It's not even about who fought and who did not. We remember the yeoman who died when the file cabinet fell over on him in rough seas as readily as we remember the soldier who died in battle, if we're respecting the holiday at all.
For some reason, though, America has turned this day into a Yay Vets, Yay ACDU, Pay Attention to Servicemembers Who Are Deployed, let's have a concert and eat, rah-rah-rah and Wave-The-Flag day.
Memorial Day is not Veteran's Day is not Independence Day....but for some reason, unfathomable to me, we tend to convolute at least two out of three of those on a regular basis.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/05/23/presidential-proclamation-prayer-peace-memorial-day-2014
Today, we pause to remember our fallen troops, to mourn their loss, and to pray for their loved ones. Though our hearts ache, we find a measure of solace in knowing their legacy lives on in the families our heroes left behind -- the proud parents who instilled in their sons and daughters the values that led them to serve; the remarkable spouses who gave our Nation the person they cherished most in the world; and the beautiful children who will grow up with the knowledge that their mother or father embodied the true meaning of patriotism. To those we lost, we owe a profound debt that can never be fully repaid. But we can honor the fallen by caring for their loved ones and keeping faith with our veterans and their fellow brothers and sisters in arms.