“It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and harmony between people.” Dalai Lama
Memorial Day started out with a bang this morning with the sounds of thunder shaking the house and Merlin rushing to be comforted. Any chance of sleeping in went out the window. In between the crashes of thunder and comforting a scared cat it did allow me to think about the meaning of this day. My own family has veterans that I honor today.
My father fought in World War II. I have his photograph album from his station in Tinian. He talked a bit about those days and like most children I avidly listened to his stories. His older sister, Hazel, was also in the Army during the war. She was a cook and we always teased her about cooking for an army still although she did cook Easter dinner for her brother and his wife and five children. My mother’s older brother served in Europe during the War. He retired as a Colonel after making the Army his life long career. His younger brother was a prisoner of war in a German concentration camp. My biggest regret was that they couldn’t build a memorial to these brave men and women until after the veterans of World War II in my family were dead. I would have dearly loved to have taken my Dad to see it.
My oldest brother is a veteran of the Vietnam war. It is something he doesn’t talk about. He was a chaplain’s assistant. He came home to find that he couldn’t get a job with his teaching certificate because the person who interviewed him called him a “baby killer” for being in Vietnam. He won the Bronze star but he won’t tell us why. For the most part those days are kept hidden inside. I remember those days of the constant worry about him. I remember baking endless boxes of cookies so he could have something home made. I remember finding a little miniature Christmas tree and tiny decorations so that he could have a tree for Christmas. I remember taking care of younger brothers and sisters so that my parents could meet him in Hawaii for R&R. I remember mother talking about being on the Arizona Memorial and how eerie it was to stand there and know all those people were dead in the water below you.
What we need to remember on this Memorial Day is not only the brave men and women who served in our Armed Forces but also their families and loved ones. It is so difficult to have someone you love in danger. We have the freedom in this country to oppose wars and government policies we don’t agree with. We also have the responsibility to remember that our ideological differences must also take into consideration that their are families with loved ones in those wars. They deserve our support. Their loved ones are risking their lives and we need to honor their commitment and we need to honor their families. Memorial Day is about people.
Memorial Day started out with a bang this morning with the sounds of thunder shaking the house and Merlin rushing to be comforted. Any chance of sleeping in went out the window. In between the crashes of thunder and comforting a scared cat it did allow me to think about the meaning of this day. My own family has veterans that I honor today.
My father fought in World War II. I have his photograph album from his station in Tinian. He talked a bit about those days and like most children I avidly listened to his stories. His older sister, Hazel, was also in the Army during the war. She was a cook and we always teased her about cooking for an army still although she did cook Easter dinner for her brother and his wife and five children. My mother’s older brother served in Europe during the War. He retired as a Colonel after making the Army his life long career. His younger brother was a prisoner of war in a German concentration camp. My biggest regret was that they couldn’t build a memorial to these brave men and women until after the veterans of World War II in my family were dead. I would have dearly loved to have taken my Dad to see it.
My oldest brother is a veteran of the Vietnam war. It is something he doesn’t talk about. He was a chaplain’s assistant. He came home to find that he couldn’t get a job with his teaching certificate because the person who interviewed him called him a “baby killer” for being in Vietnam. He won the Bronze star but he won’t tell us why. For the most part those days are kept hidden inside. I remember those days of the constant worry about him. I remember baking endless boxes of cookies so he could have something home made. I remember finding a little miniature Christmas tree and tiny decorations so that he could have a tree for Christmas. I remember taking care of younger brothers and sisters so that my parents could meet him in Hawaii for R&R. I remember mother talking about being on the Arizona Memorial and how eerie it was to stand there and know all those people were dead in the water below you.
What we need to remember on this Memorial Day is not only the brave men and women who served in our Armed Forces but also their families and loved ones. It is so difficult to have someone you love in danger. We have the freedom in this country to oppose wars and government policies we don’t agree with. We also have the responsibility to remember that our ideological differences must also take into consideration that their are families with loved ones in those wars. They deserve our support. Their loved ones are risking their lives and we need to honor their commitment and we need to honor their families. Memorial Day is about people.
Since coming back to Indiana I do an arrangement each year for my Dad’s grave. I make the arrangement out of silk flowers so that it will last. My Mom asked if I could find a small flag to put in the arrangement because she wasn’t sure if the cemetery provided them or not. This is the arrangement I did for this year. My brother took it out for us and he said it was the most beautiful arrangement in that plot. That is because the flowers were watered with tears.
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