Memorial Day

I located this commentary On Memorial day and thought it said a lot. Both my mother and father served in World War II. God bless those that served so that we may be a free country. God Bless America and God Bless League City.

The League City Memorial Day Ceremony will be at 9:30 AM May 25, 2009 at the League City Sportsplex.


A Commentary by Terry Plowman

Memorial Day now suffers the same secular fate as Christmas -- its commercial value has far outstripped its original meaning.That fact is especially evident here in a resort area, where Memorial Day weekend is considered the kickoff to the busy summer season. Although there is nothing terribly wrong with that, and we couldn't change it anyway, we hope readers will give a few moments thought to the real meaning of Memorial Day this weekend.

The trouble with evoking memories from past military conflicts is that it is like looking at a grainy black-and-white photograph or newsreel (an outdated term in itself).For many Americans who can barely remember life without color photography, looking at these black-and-white images has little impact. They represent another time, one that is hard to connect with today. But for those who lived through the past few wars, there is color in the memories, and for many of those who served in the military, the color is blood red.

For them Memorial Day is not a history lesson, quickly forgotten like other lessons from our school days. For them it is the father, the brother, the son, the husband, the pal who never came home. And for those of us living today, the war dead are our vivid connection to Memorial Day -- because it is an eerie fact that many of us would not be here today were it not for a quirk of fate that allowed our fathers to survive a war.

How many of the more than 400,000 World War II dead would have fathered the geniuses, the creators, the liberators of today's generations? How many of the 116,000 World War I dead, the 54,000 Korean War dead, or the 58,000 Vietnam War dead? How many of the 500,000 Civil War dead would have fathered children whose impact would still be felt in our lives today? Actually, many of these dead patriots were themselves only 18 or 19 years old, so they were robbed of the chance to leave us any legacy other than the memory of their sacrifice.

A wounded seaman who was taken aboard a rescue vessel during the D-Day invasion was quoted in Life Magazine about the fundamental mystery of war:

"(The ship) was loaded with the bodies of sailors, soldiers, airmen; the wounded and survivors. And on board was the body of my friend Pete Petersen. He was going to be 21 on June 22. One thing you always wonder is, who makes that decision: Who dies and who doesn't?"

On this holiday weekend, let's not forget the meaning, the mystery and the tragedy behind Memorial Day.