We Must Never Forget

Most people think of Memorial Day as the unofficial kickoff to the summer season.  Some people are scrambling to get their last minute plantings in. There are picnics and barbeques and it’s the start of the travel season (even with absurdly high gas prices). 

Add to that sports, sports and more sports.  Capping it off we have the many trees, flowers and shrubs in bloom thus creating a happy and beautiful time of year.

To me all of this is strangely ironic because it is in marked contrast to the solemnity of the day that we set aside to pay our respects and acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice of so many men and women. 

It is precisely because of their sacrifice that we are able to enjoy our families, the events of the day and the beauty of the world around us.

All to often, I fear, we get so caught up with the activities and chores surrounding us that we tend to forget the purpose of the day.  Lord knows, there’s plenty to remind us.

While we’re all having our fun — safe, secure, comfortable — there are many others far from home in harms way.

I am reminded every single week of the sacrifice made by those who serve. One day a week I visit, among others, two World War II veterans. 

One is named Bert. Bert is 92 years old. He served in an artillery unit with Patton’s Third Army.  Bert shares many stories with me that have special meaning. My uncle also was an artilleryman in Patton’s Third Army.

In fact after receiving my draft notice and reporting for active duty May 14, 1964, I soon found myself as a raw recruit celebrating the day with others.  Ultimately I was sent to artillery school in Oklahoma, thus creating  yet another bond with Bert, my uncle and so many others.

The second man, named Ed, has extraordinary stories to tell. He is 97 years old. Ed was at Pearl Harbor on that fateful day December 7, 1941. At the time of the attack he was on board the light cruiser, USS Helena. He was taking a shower. The ship was hit and heavily damaged but it did not sink. Ed escaped unharmed.

When the USS Helena had been repaired, it was sent to the Pacific theater. On the evening of July 5, the USS Helena was struck by two torpedoes and sunk. Ed drifted in water for two hours before being picked up by a life raft. He was spared a second time.

Ed and Bert are just two of the millions we have come to know as The Greatest Generation.  I have written about others on previous occasions.  Many have now passed on and every day we lose more and more as World War II fades further into history.

But certainly the sacrifice of those generations to follow is no less "great."

 So on this Memorial Day, 2011, and every Memorial Day hereafter, let’s take a short timeout from whatever we may be doing and devote a quiet moment of silence to those who by their sacrifice made this day possible for the rest of us.

For those so inclined there is a ceremony at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post Monday at 11 a.m. on Freedom Defenders Way, off of Tinkerfield Road. For others perhaps a moment of  reflection on the true meaning of Memorial Day is in order.

Have a great day and a safe, happy summer.