Tomorrow is Memorial day
Over on big orange, Devilstower has written a truly poignant post I wish to quote in full.
Bring flowers. Bring a flag.
There may be a group of veterans present, old and young marching together, wearing dress uniforms from half dozen decades and carrying rifles to fire a sad volley over green trees. There may be a bugler playing those twenty-four notes that have sounded day’s end — and other ends — since the Civil War.
But even if the place nearest you lacks these adornments of the day, there are sure to be heroes present. Not the heroes that rest beneath the grass and stone. Their heroism was intense, but brief, and their service is done. No, the heroes you will see are the ones who come to remember. These are the fiancées who have yet to remove the ring signaling a promise that will never be fulfilled. These are the parents holding onto a last letter that’s been read so often it’s worn thin at the creases. These are the husbands and wives who will now shoulder the burden of being a single parent.
They’re the keepers of those posthumous medals and fierce protectors of living memory.
There will be no parades for them. These heroes will perform their service at silent dinner tables, on tearful birthdays, at every school meeting and softball game. Their war will last a lifetime, and every day will be another battle.Tomorrow is dedicated to the memory of those fallen, but at as those who remain fight to remember every detail of a life ended too soon, let’s remember that their lives go on. Honor is not a commodity that should be extended only to the dead.
Go up tomorrow, find a hero, and thank them for their service.
I’ve never done anything special for memorial day. Tomorrow, I think I’ll take his advice.
)
Thanks, Sayhar. Excellent post.
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