Memorial Day Melancholy – An Annual Re-post
Two or three times a year some of us geezer types get a bit tangled up in old times. Late April and much of May include several dates that trigger memories here.
Late April because my pop was declared KIA in Korea on April 25, 1951.
Early May because years ago I was discharged on May 9, 1969 from the Navy after spending over a year around Vietnam.
And then there is Memorial Day. The advertisements for sales and off topic events make the day difficult to avoid, even if I wanted to. So I repeat this post with minor updates.
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Circa 1950 pix of me ‘n dad
I was an Army brat the first few years of my life. I have vague memories (or memories of memories?) of several Army posts; in Georgia, in Arizona, and another place or two. Then my dad was deployed to some place called Korea sometime in 1950.
Three additional memories are a bit more vivid – the day we were notified he was Missing in Action and, sometime later, that his remains had been recovered, and finally, his funeral. I wasn’t allowed to go – I was deemed too young.
But, I have a Purple Heart.
He is buried in our home town, and there’s a small memorial in the city park there with his name inscribed. I visit both as often as I can. Even though I was only five or six at the time and will be 70 in about a month I still miss him. I have pictures and memories, and…
I have a Purple Heart.
For many others, like myself, Memorial Day has a face.
We’re past the 50 year anniversary of Vietnam and there is a wall FULL of my brothers and sisters who earned a Purple Heart
So please don’t wish me a happy Memorial Day because…
I have HIS Purple Heart!
Category: Geezer Alert!
Here’s to remembering your father and others who gave the ultimate sacrifice to this great nation.
Ditto, my friend.
My dad was killed on 8/7/1945 in a B24 flying The Hump. I was two years old and my brother was three. He says he has some vague memories but I have none I never really had a chance to know him. All I have are a few pictures. The remains on the plane and crew were found in Burma in 1973 and they are now buried in Arlington.
RIP! to your father. My memorial day has faces as well. Soldiers I knew and served with who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. RIP brothers!
Just got sideways with my Chinese HR guy yesterday after he send around a mail saying “Happy Memorial Day” and then laughed it off when I told him that to many (and should be most) Americans that was deeply offensive. He wasn’t laughing a couple of minutes after I suggested a really expensive lawsuit could be brought… and our Legal guy agreed with me.
Zero, a salute rendered to your Dad and all the others before and after him who have paid the ultimate price.
For me, Memorial Day is mostly for civilians. For those of us who served in combat and those who supported that effort, that extra level of patriotism that civilians aspire to on Memorial Day is a routine maintenance level for us. I know for me, and I believe for most of you reading here at TAH, it is an awareness, an integral part of us, that is always with us and will be to our graves.
Still, it’s good to know that our countrymen have set aside a period to honor our fallen and mostly do so in a manner I think those warriors, for certain the infantrymen I knew, would find fitting and have a deep appreciation for, the consumption of large amounts of beer and other adult beverages. It’s like once a year America conducts a good old-fashioned wake for them. They’d like that.
So if someone says “Happy Memorial Day” to me I’m not going to get ugly, but rather remind them that the holiday they are so happy about had to be earned, and was not done so by them, but by others with a blood price, their lives. And then I’ll suggest that at least once during their long weekend they should raise a can or bottle in salute and say thanks to those who made it possible.
These guys express it very well…
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2016/05/28/watch-army-rangers-release-video-for-im-gonna-miss-you-memorial-day-tribute/