Memorial Day is the most important calendar observation in my family. But it was because I made it so.
Prior to my full knowledge of the world, Memorial Day was an unofficial kickoff to summer or something that had to do with US Soldiers and freedom.
It wasn’t until I was older that I understood this marked occasion, why it must be given its proper respect, and ultimately why I place this day above every other calendar holiday.
The aftermath of a rifle’s bullet fatal impact is final. There is no resting or getting back up.
There is no going home for dinner to your loved ones. Hanging out with your friends. There is no reading books, writing poetry, taking photos of flowers and random small moments of life. It is an end to the biological miracle of a life, an end to the possibilities of which that particular life can propagate for the future. Further, and much more profound, it is the end of the consciousness – the stored love and cherished values – that life stored within its physical vessel.
This is not a small loss. This is an unspeakably painful one.
It must be a mix of twilight, memories of love experienced, and paradoxical silence to step out to the final coordinates where one’s death occurs.
One could imagine the small but impactful points of destiny that lead them to this final point; the irreversible separation of the self from the physical. Time here is not some far off construct, it is measured in feet per second. Even divine chance cannot save all that she favors.
And yet, you’d have to ask – why were these men here? In Vietnam, many were drafted. Many volunteered. But they all fought towards one goal – to survive and, to an extent, be a representative for a rare free society. It was the same for the Revolutionary War, WWI & II, The Korean War, Iraq, and finally Iran. Throughout it all, there was a consistent thread; Defend what you love, defend the home you cherish.
When one thinks of it that way, it makes perfect sense. But to perceive it in that way, and to actually go and definitively do something with that feeling…and to make the ultimate sacrifice….that’s something else.
While I do not use the 3 day weekend to grill, I don’t judge anyone that does – that would be a repulsive attitude. The sacrifice was meant so that such activities could be done in peace and without the fear of civilizational uncertainty.
But what does it mean to me?
It means that the love for our constitutional republic and what it affords us is so great, that there have been and there are still people willing to go into the pits of despair, terror and cruelty knowing that it is a certainty both chance and demons will forever prevent them from going back home. But they do this so that the people they love will not have to fear those same forces of despair, terror and unbridled cruelty.
For that, they deserve much more than remembrance, they must be memorialized.
I am also acutely aware that those brave souls, in their nobility, wouldn’t want Memorial Day to only be about somber remembrance. It should also be the day where they can borrow the voices of those that live because of them; to shout back to the forces of cowardice and cruelty, their temporary victory only promised one thing – that another army would appear on the horizon.
Have a blessed U.S. Memorial Day. And to the families of those that made the ultimate sacrifice, my family will always grieve with you.
Feel Free To Leave A Comment!