Memorial Day began on May 30th 1868
known at the time as Decoration Day
it was designated by General John A
Logan and it was set aside for the
purpose of stirring with flowers or
otherwise decorating the graves of
comrades who died in the defense of
their country during the late Rebellion
and those bodies now lie in almost every
city Village and Hamlet Courtyard of the
land
this was done to honor the Fallen of the
Civil War
Decoration Day took on new meaning after
World War One and the wars that followed
Decoration Day remained on May 30th
until 1971 when Memorial Day was
officially signed into law making a
Federal holiday the last Monday in May
every year
Memorial Day over the years has meant a
lot of different things to a lot of
different people
for some it's a three-day weekend
marking the beginning of summer or the
end of a school year
for others it's a cookout or a sale at
the used car lot
and even for some is the opportunity to
participate in the Murph challenge
workout to see if they can beat their
time of the previous year
growing up I remember the meaning of
Memorial Day evolving as I matured
as a young boy scout I remember going to
the cemetery to place flags on the
graves of veterans and then collecting
those flags and properly disposing of
them
I remember walking in the Memorial Day
parade with the local American Legion
Post and seeing these old crusty Vietnam
vets in their olive drab uniforms
the thought of seeing those men as old
makes me laugh today
because I'm currently the same age as
many of those vets who I once thought
were old and crusty
as I got older my participation on
Memorial Day changed once again as I
marched in the parade as a member of the
high school marching band
we played a medley of various military
marches it gave me a sense of Pride that
we were honoring the history of
America's fighting men and women
we would stand silently in the cemetery
and listen to speeches and prayers
commemorating the day
then finish the ceremony with a solemn
Psalm followed by taps
then March quietly out of the cemetery
yet I still don't think I knew the true
purpose or meaning of Memorial Day
I then joined the army and still didn't
know the true meaning of the day
I remember one day I was working at a
checkpoint in Fort Bragg in 2001.
an old man and his family came to visit
they brought us some food and some
coffee I can't quite remember
the old man shook the hand of every
member of my squad
he told us that he served in the Korean
War
he then looked at each of us with tears
in his eyes and said
I love you guys
I shook his hand and said thank you
still not knowing the meaning of the day
I went on to serve multiple combat tours
in Iraq I lost several friends I even
spoke at the memorial service for the
man who served as my machine gun
yet I still did not fully comprehend the
meaning of Memorial Day
I was young and refused to let the
gravity of everything I'd experienced
sink in
I remember the day that it hit me
I hadn't been home for long and one of
my friends a fellow veteran invited me
to his hometown for the Memorial Day
Parade
we stood on the sidewalk of this small
town and watched the parade pass by Then
followed it to his Cemetery for a short
Memorial
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we stood in the cemetery and listened to
the keynote speaker a full bird colonel
in the Army Reserves who is about to
retire
while giving his speech he talked about
his various assignments
and he listed desk job after desk job
not once did he serve in combat
I was angry
it was that moment that the true meaning
of Memorial Day hit home for me
Memorial Day isn't the day we celebrate
Veterans it's not a day we thank people
for signing up Memorial Day is a day we
set aside for the solemn remembrance of
the men and women who not only dedicated
their lives to this country
but sacrificed their lives for it
these men and women didn't go out in a
glaze of Glory like they do in the
movies
many of these men and women spent their
last moments on Earth full of fear and
regret
they were afraid that their friends
their brothers and sisters would not
survive the war
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they regretted that they could not do
more
we owe them a debt that will never fully
be repaid
I've lost more friends in the last 20
years than I can count
my friend Todd died while we were in
Iraq I spent 14 days walking up and down
the banks of the Tigris River looking
for his body
I've had friends in a helicopter that
were shot down and their execution was
broadcast on the internet
my friend Daniel Crabtree was killed in
Iraq on June 8 2006 by a roadside bomb
I was notified of his death years later
when I was looking for a workout and
found a CrossFit wad named in his honor
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Memorial Day
for me today
is a day that I live with the regret
that I came home and so many of my
friends did not
it's a day that I wish I did more to
kill more of our enemies so that my
friends would still be here
a few years ago a documentary about
World War one was made with colorized
footage from the war
the documentary was called they shall
not grow old
no truer words have ever been spoken
with each day that passes I continue to
grow older yet my friends do not
I still remember their faces
full of life and energy
today
is a day that I'm reminded of the debt
paid for me
that I can never repay
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foreign
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