Ernest Hemingway once said, “A coward dies a thousand deaths but a brave man dies but once.” It has also been stated that a person actually dies twice; once when they pass from this Earth and finally, when the last person who remembers them has died. Memorial Day honors those who are not cowards; they have died only once. As long as there are people like you and me to remember them; they will never truly die.
Memorial Day began as “Decoration Day”, a day to decorate graves with flowers and garlands to remember and memorialize the fallen of the Civil War. As time passed, the celebration widened to include not only those killed in battle during the Civil War but as a remembrance of all veterans who have passed on, whether killed in action or not. Memorial Day was celebrated on May 30th from 1868 to 1968. It was in 1968 that the federal holiday was codified as the last Monday in May. For a time some states continued to celebrate Memorial Day on May 30th (South Dakota was one of those states) while the federal holiday remained the last Monday in May. However, now all states celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday in May while some southern states still have separate commemorations for their Confederate war dead as well.
Memorial Day was the brainchild of General John A. Logan the Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, which was the veteran’s organization of Union Army veterans. Because it was a “Yankee” idea, many southern states organized their own days of commemoration, specifically for Confederate war dead. It wasn’t until after World War I that both the North and South would celebrate Memorial Day on May 30th: the groundwork was laid for this joint celebration by the reunion of Union and Confederate veterans of Gettysburg in 1913, fifty years after that battle had taken place. It could be argued that Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was really the first “memorial day” address, even though there was no recognized holiday at that time. He was in Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery and to honor the dead, much like present day commemorations take place in cemeteries to honor those who have passed on. President Lincoln said in part in his address, “…But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract…”
Cemeteries across America and the world are filled with dashing young patriotic Americans, who were full of with piss and vinegar angry at the injustices of the tyrants of the world or by the assaults on the ideals of our nation or who were incensed by an actual physical attack on our country so they joined the military and served with distinction. Other Americans heeded the call of their Uncle Sam when he sent them a letter saying, “Greeting; you are hereby ordered for induction …” and they accepted the draft and served.
We require much of our Service men and women and all for low pay, compared to civilian life, with poor working conditions. When was the last time you were shot at on your way to work or encountered an IED on your job site? Stress, long separations from loved ones, numerous deployments and experiences that no one else can understand (unless they were a veteran themselves) are all a routine part of military life.
Memorial Day is about honoring our dead. Those who died in the service of the country on the battlefield, in the skies, on the high seas and those who succumbed to the wounds they received. We also honor those veterans who died tragically in helicopter crashes or other training exercises while serving in the Armed Forces. We honor those who served and who couldn’t cope, for whatever reason, when they
got back home and so died. We honor those veterans who served their hitch or completed their career in the military and eventually died peacefully in their beds at a ripe old age.
Memorial Day is more than a just day off or another excuse to have a sale. Memorial Day is the day we set aside to remember the saints and sinners who served so we could be safe, warm, happy and whine about how “bad” things are in this country; all while living in the one nation on Earth that the rest of the world is trying to break into in order to enjoy our freedoms, our prosperity and our way of life.
The military stands on the parapets 24/7/365 defending our territory, our ideals and our heritage. It may sound trite but it’s true; freedom isn’t free. Thomas Jefferson said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots.” We should honor and remember the patriots who have perished to whom we owe everything. It is right that we do so.
They lie peacefully in their graves only as long as we are vigilant. Only as long as we cherish the liberties they died to protect. They are at peace secure in the knowledge that their legacy of service and patriotism has been passed on to the generations of Americans who came after them.
We honor them and their memory. Lives remembered are never truly lost.