Memorial Day, After.
Poetrooper sent me his thoughts on the celebration of Memorial Day, and I’ve finally found time to post up. It is a bit late, and for that I apologize- need to manage my time better. Anyway, here’s Poe, with another thought provoking article.
Poetrooper
A National Wake: Simply honor them the way they would have honored you
From dictionary.com: Wake—a watch or vigil by the body of a dead person before burial, sometimes accompanied by feasting or merrymaking.
FOX News featured a special broadcast this past weekend honoring our veterans, both fallen and surviving, which really cut to the core of an issue that many Americans, including many veterans, especially combat veterans find troubling: Too many Americans have lost sight of the meaning of Memorial Day and just consider it another reason for a long holiday weekend in which to grill, drink and relax at the lake, the park or just in the back yard.
This special, entitled “Modern Warriors,” was headed up by Pete Hegseth, a former combat infantry officer, who hosted Navy SEAL, Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell and his twin brother, Morgan, also a medically retired SEAL, as well as Chad Fleming, an Army Ranger officer who served five deployments after he lost a leg due to combat wounds, and Congressman Adam Kinzinger, currently a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force reserves, a pilot with multiple combat deployments. It was truly a group of warriors, an impressive group of America’s finest fighters. Half way through the show, during a commercial break, my wife turned to me and said, “I am so glad we have young men like that protecting us.” I nodded agreement, an old warrior, knowing exactly how she felt.
But what struck me most about this small group of tough, combat-hardened men was their unanimous agreement in the closing segment regarding how they felt Memorial Day should be celebrated. To a man they thought that the key word is celebrated—yes, this is a day of tribute to the fallen, but we should recognize that most of those fallen were young men—so how would they behave on a day off honoring their sacrifice? Again, to a man, this group of combat veterans agreed that their fallen buddies would be maintaining a happy vigil, grilling at the lake, the park, or in their back yards while happily hoisting brews in heartfelt salutes to their fellow warriors.
To those of you who feel that all Memorial Day observations should be formal, solemn affairs, I would ask you to consider the youth of the huge majority of America’s fallen warriors and to ask yourselves how those young men would prefer to see their lives and their sacrifices honored. As an old combat infantryman, I can attest that those of my friends who fell in Vietnam would vote overwhelmingly for a free-drinking, hard-partying barbecue over a solemn, military-style ceremony. To my way of thinking, it should be a post-burial wake where friends and strangers alike remember the lost young warriors and honor their loss with frequent toasts and great food, just as those young men would have done for their own fallen friends, had they, themselves, been here today.
The upshot: Simply honor them the way they would have honored you.
Makes sense to me; thanks, Poe.
Category: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy
I taped Petes show on Fox when it aired and then watched it later on.
Here’s a thought – can we do both? The flag is supposed to be hoisted to full staff at noon. Perhaps if we do the solemn stuff in the morning, then spend the rest of the day in celebration?
Nailed it, PT.
Those who didn’t make it home died so Americans could be, well, Americans.
I concur.
Meanwhile, if you want to thank a soldier, be the kind of American worth fighting for. (I stole that).
^This^…and what Hondo said, and ditto to everyone else’s comment.
Monday, after our visit to the “forgotten boys” in the small church cemetery, we grilled up some beef, pork, and yard bird beasties. Had all the trimmings with beverages. Spoke of the good times we had with the ones that didn’t come back or that were no longer with us. The boys would’ve been pleased.
I caught the tail end of that program, and saw the part you mentioned, and could not agree more. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think the graveside services, gun salutes, etc shouldn’t be solemn affairs, but after that, I know I’d want everyone to remember me with a good old fashioned Irish wake, and that’s how I’ll honor the fallen, with a toast to all of them.