My family has a long history of military service: grandfathers, uncles, father and husband -- ranging from The Great War to the present. I honor and respect our Veterans and their families through shared experiences and continued compassion and prayers.
The lack of understanding by some in the media disturbs me regarding the meaning of Memorial Day vice Veterans Day.
Memorial Day honors those who have fallen in the service of our Nation. Veterans Day honors all Veterans, past and present.
These two links provide an overview of why and how, we celebrate Memorial Day.
Origins: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
Observance: http://www.thememorialdaytribute.com/observe-memorial-day.html
Freedom Isn't Free
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
Freedom Isn't Free
Kelly Strong
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