Memorial Day is a Federal Holiday in the US for remembering and honoring military who died in the service of their country, with an emphasis on those who died in battle, or injuries received. There are ceremonies that pay tribute to the men and women, laying flowers at their graves, and leaving a prayer behind. We pay tribute by laying flowers and saying prayers at the graves, I am sure this is where the original name of the day came from, Decoration Day.
Today the family drove over to Arlington National Cemetery to pay our respect and lay some flowers on gaves that are special to us. It is an honor to be able to live close enough and do this. Our nation's dead have been buried here, since the Civil War, which was fought from April 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865. Some of the graves were reinterred dead from an earlier battle.
With each soldier that is buried here at Arlington Cemetery, they are given a funeral with military honors and a flag that is folded during the service. There is also a 21 gun salute which I cannot watch while being done. It is both personal and gives me goosebumps - when you go home, you take that memory with you.
We laid flowers at the graves, enjoying the beauty of the day. I look around and see other families doing much the same. It was a quiet few moments and I was glad we came. With or without the personal connection, Arlington is a worthy visit. The endless markers with the names engraved always makes me remember the realities of war.
Then, there was the parade today. I guess I am not really going in order. Does it matter? Probably not. For the first time since 2019, the Memorial Day Parade marched down Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC. There was a banner crowd today, having missed our parades for a couple of years. It was a warm one today!
Truly, not in order, but, I am getting the majority of my day in. It was a busy day, I will admit to that! We meandered over to the Vietnam War Memorial.
On November 11, 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was completed, ten years after the end of the bitter and divisive Vietnam War that tore the United States apart. After ten years of shame, anger, and painful fights over US participation in the Vietnam War, the sacrifice and courage of the soldiers who fought were finally to be recognized and remembered. Speaking at the wall for a Veterans Day ceremony, President Reagan declared, “The night is over. We see these men and know them once again and know how much we owe them, how much they’ve given us, and how much we can never fully repay” source
It was many years back that I came upon this memorial for the first time, this wall of strangers. I return to the wall, time and time again, and quietly look over the 58,209 names inscribed. There is so much gratitude on my part, for their many sacrifices, for their enormous losses, for the chance to see, firsthand, in fact, the cost of war…. To count these names, not by the thousands that were up there, but to recognize them one by one by one. Who were these men? No longer strangers to me, for now, they are connected with a name…
It was a full day, but we managed to do most of the things that we set out to do. It was more crowded than I wanted it to be, but I expected that would happen. Rolling Thunder came back to town, after being unceremoniously unwelcomed. It is always good to see them!
Happy Memorial Day!
¸.•´¸.•♥*¨)
(¸.•´♥ (¸.•´ ♥
All I have are my words, armed in my mind, written in pen, stand by stand. Oh, yes. Still by hand. It has a different feel. Altered not by keys, backspace, and delete, I write, erase, tear it to pieces and start all over again. And again.
It’s my way. I walk out to the deep end of the page and dive right in.
they set my aunts house on fire
i cried the way women on tv do
folding at the middle
like a five pound note.
i called the boy who use to love me
tried to ‘okay’ my voice
i said hello
he said warsan, what’s wrong, what’s happened?
i’ve been praying,
and these are what my prayers look like;
dear god
i come from two countries
one is thirsty
the other is on fire
both need water.
later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered,
"where does it hurt?"
it answered,
"everywhere"
"everywhere"
"everywhere"
warsan shire
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*Some parts of this post were previously posted.
Thank you for the repost @pixresteemer!
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First of all my heartiest respect for those freedom fighters who didn't care about their lives, Happy Memorial Day! For us its February 21, we pay respect for their biggest sacrifice.
Thank you! I think they deserve the respect they are given. They give it freely.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your words.
You're welcome dear
I know that this is a holiday in the USA, but I say huge respect and huge thank you to everyone, who gave their life to protect the civilians and their countries around the world. There should be a worldwide memorial day, because this happened and still happens worldwide.
Have a nice day. All the best. Greetings and much love from Hungary.
I agree with you that it would be worldwide! I call it a Holiday, but it is a remembrance day really. They made it into a three-day holiday years ago. It signified the start of summer, school letting out, and big parades to remember our soldiers and sailors.
My family went to the parade, cemetery, and a few of the War Memorials. It helps me to never forget.
As if I could.
Happy Memorial Day! They were brave soldiers and patriots who laid down their lives for the country and the people. Their sacrifice is never forgotten. :)
That means a lot to me, coming from you. It was such an emotional issue here, years after it was over. I have great respect for those that gave their all.
Thank you for the words. ❤️
This is very Nice a day to remember them all for there sacrifices toward the Country.
May there Souls Continue to Rest in Peace🙏
Remember lest we ever forget.
Amen.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your words.
Yeah 👍
🙏🙏
You are welcome My Dear
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a truly emotional day… they will be remembered.
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True, I don't like to celebrate the day, but, I do like to take the day and think of them in remembrance.
All in all, it was a nice day with family and later friends. I hope your day was great too!
And that is worth so much to be able to spend it with family and friends 🥰
Good to hear, thank you yes, my day has been great too 😊
Good morning to you… it’s POWER UP DAY 🥳🥳🐝🐝🤩🤩
nice article, Happy commemorating the day.
Thank you so much for the words. I hope you week is going well.
You're welcome.
It is good to remember that our freedom is not free.
I don't have what the answer should have been, but I find it heart wrenching that the human race did not come up with a better way of working out differences than to send our young men, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles..... to kill each other. sigh
Where IS that perfect world????
Isn't that the truth? Man has been like almost since the beginning of time. I am pretty sure that if the world had been ruled by women way back when (as we didn't really count) there would be no wars.
Of course, that is what we have been telling each other, so I have to believe it's true.
Yesterday I was finally able to attend a parade in commemoration of Memorial Day. In previous years this activity had been suspended due to the pandemic. Yesterday I was able to enjoy a solemn act in which the fallen in battle were honored. I loved seeing how everyone dressed in the colors of the flag. A lot of patriotism display. All in all it was a good and beautiful day.
You know that one of the places that struck me the most on my visit to Washington was that Vietnam memorial. It was so sad to see so many names inscribed on those walls. It is one thing reading and watching movies/ documentaries about that war, but it is a totally different thing is reading their names and looking at some of their faces ( I saw some pictures left in the monument. I guess their families leave them there)
I would have liked to see that cemetery, but I didn't have the time to get there, even though I it was so close to where I was .I think it is also an important site to visit.maybe next time !
How wonderful that you got to see the parade. I went to the big parade they have here and visited the Memorials. We also go to the cemetery about once a month to lay flowers and pay our respects.
The Wall is stunning and the names make me lose my words.
I forgot to ask you how long since you came here from Venezuela? I grew up in New England where most people are friendly and families close. It has always been like that. I know of the pictures and cards on the Wall that you speak of. Here is one. There are always many of them. Next time, the cemetery!
Your pictures are beautiful. I am so glad you got to see the Wall. It is a prtty incredible piece. Poignant and meaningful.
Have a beautiful night and thank you for taking the time to comment! @francisaponte25
I've been here for three years now ( I arrived in the US on June 2019). Time flies; but at the same time, I feel like if it has stopped somehow. This is so weird.
What a touching message on that card !
"I will never understand the sacrifice your family made with your loss", though words.
Have a nice rest of the week @dswigle !