MEMORIAL DAY

Next Monday is Memorial Day, a time set aside to honor those who have been killed while serving with the United States military forces. We refer to them as ‘our boys in service’ and most of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen slain in battle were kids. They were still living with their parents and contemplating, “What will I be when I grow up?” Some hastily married their sweethearts and fathered children they never saw.

A little history. In 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, people began laying flowers on the graves of soldiers killed in the bloodiest four years in American history. May 30 was referred to as Decoration Day or Memorial Day. In 1970, Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Act designating the last Monday in May as Memorial Day, a federal holiday. This year, the two dates coincide.

In Durand, the Stars and Stripes fly along Center Street. The Legion members have visited the area’s cemeteries and placed a small American flag on the grave of every veteran. Last Friday and Saturday, artificial poppies were sold as a fund raiser. The flower has been a symbol of lives lost since the World War I poem by John McCrae, “In Flanders Field.” Saturday, May 28, at 7 p.m., the Auxiliary’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony will be conducted at the Hall.

Memorial weekend is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer, but don’t wish me a ‘happy Memorial Day’. I think that’s the biggest oxymoron in the American vocabulary–it’s like saying, “Have fun at the funeral.”

Many things vie for our attention. Stores will advertise bargains for shoppers. Grills and patio furniture will be dusted off and picnics planned. I hope you take a few minutes to ponder the meaning of Memorial Day and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for our freedom preserved with peoples’ lives.

How will you observe Memorial Day?