It isn't a holiday

I fail to see how we can call it such. The sacrafice is very real even if the reasons are bullshit. Politicians and dictators start the wars and our children pay the price. Using the term "holiday" implies celebration, and this is no time for celebration. This is a time to mourn lives lost and families ripped apart... sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, husbands, wives and friends gone from this planet forever. Only memories left.

"If it is considered a holiday, why is it so? I consider it to be a national day of mourning. This is how we observe this day in our home. Because of what that day represents the rest of the days of the year are our holidays."

-- F L Lloyd -- West Chester, Pa USA -- February 26, 2000

Saturday as I was returning home from the grocery I found myself caught up in a clutch of traffic heading south down the interstate. The small cars and SUV's mostly had TCU stickers on the windows, but a few had UNT or Baylor emblems. They were packed with smiling, laughing young men and women... some already wearing bathing suits. These kids were likely on their way to Padre Island or some such place to celebrate the beginning of summer. This was the beginning of a 3-day weekend, after all.

They seemed oblivious of another group of youngsters that headed to the beaches on June 6, 1944... 68 years and a few thousand miles away. Their dead never came home. Those bodies were interred in 27 war cemeteries across Europe... those that could be found. Nobody knows how many died, but there are over 110,000 graves in these cemeteries.

Please forgive if this saddens me... that our sons and daughters have gone to war and come back in boxes... if they came back at all... and our modern kids head to the beaches and bar-b-cues with little on no care. The gravity of the day is not taught in schools or in our homes. This day is not something to be celebrated. It is something that we should... something that we *must* mourn.

We must also strive to end the need for wars -- to somehow bring humans together rather than endlessly wedging ourselves apart with silly religious or philosophic differences... quests for power and authority over others... dominion.

Until we can figure out how to do this, we will mourn.

In this country Congress hasn't helped to maintain the memory of loss. Changing the date from the original May 30^th to the last Monday in May makes it easier to party, but somehow cheapens the intent of the day.

This change in dates was done so these kids could have that 3-day weekend... celebrate the start of the summer season... and it was done at the expense of the memory of those who lost their lives on forgotten battlefields.

For that reason I offer this tribute today, and remind you that this isn’t just a celebration of the coming summer season. It is reminder that we must grieve the loss of human life... indeed the loss of humanity.

There are some who remember.

"In 1999 I laid flowers at the grave of a young U.S. fighter pilot who was KIA in my village in 1945. In the Netherlands I know of schools 'adopting' graves of Allied servicemen, keeping those graves in excellent condition! Does anybody know of adopting graves in the U.S. by schools?

Sincerely,
Paul Patist 

Castricum, The Netherlands - Tue May 15 04:50:29 2001"

There are some who remember, and perhaps there are schools here adopting graves, but I do not see it if it is happening. People all over Europe display remembrance and respect for Americans buried on their soil, yet here in the U.S. we head to the beach to get a tan. Remind me some day and I'll tell you my story of a young, French waitress I encountered once while working in the small town of Pau.

I do not accept the necessity of war. It is the most horrible of things... something in which we seem all to anxious to engage... but regardless of philosophy until we can change the world we must honor our family, friends and neighbors who died in service to the ideal of country.

Not just here, but worldwide. America's children are not the only to have died in some unexplained and likely unnecessary conflict. We need to teach our children the day's meaning -- show others by our actions that we will not forget – and never cease in our efforts to bring peace to the planet. By any means possible we must end these seemingly never ending wars.

My favorite cartoonists solemnly take on the role of reminding us the real meaning of the day. Some accept the first Monday date... I do not... but the sentiment remains. All are good, but the first and the last are really all that need be said.

###

Nothing much today

Come back on the 30th.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal,

love leaves a memory no one can steal.

~an Irish Epitath~

How sleep the brave, who sink to rest,

By all their country's wishes blest!

When Spring, with dewy fingers cold,

Returns to deck their hallow'd mould,

She there shall dress a sweeter sod

Than Fancy's feet have ever trod.

By fairy hands their knell is rung,

There Honour comes, a pilgrim gray,

To bless the turf that wraps their clay;

And Freedom shall awhile repair,

To dwell, a weeping hermit, there.

~William Collins~

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Veterans Day rememberance

In August of 2009, Jacksonville, FL threatened to cancel its annual Veterans Day parade. The city council cut the funding. A virtual firestorm of protest by residents forced a cowed council to reverse the decision.

Jacksonville is not alone. Fresno, CA threatened the same this year, and similar stories have been appearing in newspapers across the nation for the last couple years. When it isn’t an outright cancellation of veterans activities, often it is some curtailment of government involvement.

Cities from New York to California have cut back on observances of the holiday, citing waning public interest. Cities are feeling the crunch from the recession and are looking for ways to scale back, and with public participation in Veterans activities declining, the holiday makes an easy target for budget hawks.

Veterans Day is an odd duck of a holiday. Many public schools, colleges and universities remain open - even with thousands of veterans sitting in their classrooms. While I sit here at home this morning, my teacher neighbor and her 8^th grade son departed their home at their normal time.

Businesses operate as if nothing is going on. Such signs of business as usual give city officials what they see as reason to cut funds for Veterans Day events. Some even commit the ultimate insult of asking the veterans’ organizations themselves to front the money to pay for police and sanitation workers required for the parade, saying that tax revenues are better spent on holiday events and parades that turn a profit, or are of more interest to the public.

Veterans Day, November 11^th, was originally called Armistice Day. Some call it Remembrance Day. The day of remembrance was established to commemorate the 11th day at the 11th hour of the 11th month when, with the stroke of a pen, World War I ended.

In the United States it became an official day of observance in 1926, and was declared a national holiday by Congress in 1938. For many years, American school children paid tribute with a moment of silence at 11:00 AM. On June 1, 1954, Congress changed the name from Armistice to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

When Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act_ in 1968, it moved Veterans Day and three other Holidays to increase the number of long holiday weekends for federal employees. But Americans overwhelmingly objected to moving Veterans Day, so in 1978 the Day of Remembrance was restored to its proper place.

In those days the November 11^th holiday had great public support, but today many communities want to de-emphasize Veterans Day. This displays great disrespect to the 23 million men and women, Americans who have served or are serving in uniform.

It is insulting to the point of being unpatriotic to show such disrespect. The cities asking the poorly funded veterans’ organizations to foot the bill for municipal services for Veterans Day parades have no shame. There should be no public institution open on this day, and private businesses forcing veterans to work on this day should suffer the wrath of the people. If these businesses and institutions cannot allow a full day of respect, perhaps they could at least allow a few hours for students and employees to attend the ceremonies.

This country owes much to our soldiers and seamen. They deserve a public that will stand for at least a few moments to honor their sacrifice and bravery. Many lost their lives, and many others placed themselves in harm’s way in service to this nation. They have earned our respect. We should take a few moments today to show them our appreciation.

My personal salute goes to five names engraved in black granite on the National Mall that may also found in my 1967 High School yearbook.

They are not forgotten.

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40 years to the day

I find myself again standing on the National Mall, but this time beside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. When I was here last in 1970 I visited all the memorials, but this one wasn't here yet. Conflict was raging in the Southeast Asian jungles even as I stood among the memorials to other wars, waiting for the fireworks to begin.

This time was different for me., because of the wall.

The memorial was dedicated in late 1982 and includes the names of 58,267 servicemen and women who either lost their lives in that conflict or are listed as POW/MIA. Names have been added each year since 1982, with six added just this year. 1,200 are POW/MIA. Some day we may find some more bones, and that designation will change.

Also on the grounds is the Vietnam Women's Veterans memorial, which is the first memorial in our nation's capital dedicated to female veterans and their service in combat arenas. Eight of the names on the wall are women.

Visiting the memorial was difficult. There are books available to locate the names on the wall, listing section and line, but before going I already knew the sections I needed to visit and the line upon which I would gaze. 

As I stood there silently running my hand over one of them a volunteer walked up helpfully asking if I'd like to do a pencil impression of the name. No, but I thanked her for asking. The names have been impressed in my mind for many years. One name isn't even on the wall. He committed suicide the year the wall was dedicated. The war never ended for him, and there is no memorial for those folks.

As I walked away I people-watched some. Mostly young people, and many of them Asian. I found it curious that there were so few grizzled old coots such as myself, but I also noticed that the volunteers seemed to single us out with their offers of assistance. Most, however, were like me and politely refused the offer. 

I wondered about the youngsters, and what they were thinking as their folks led them through the garden of the dead. Some seemed interested, asking questions, while others actually were lecturing their peers about the meaning of the place. At the WW-II memorial I overheard a young teen explaining the progression of battles in the Pacific theatre to small cluster of girls her own age. She had it correct too.

Those few were very impressive, making me proud. Most, however, were probably there for the same reason I was those 40 years ago... simply waiting for sundown and the fireworks show.

~~

Monday Music, a day early

… the Independence Day version







May she always wave, o’er the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave.


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Monday Rememberance

In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Act, moving Memorial Day from it's traditional, fixed date of May 30th to the generic last Monday in May. This act, while creating nice 3-day holidays for American workers, had the unintended effect of trivializing the meaning of this day. 

So long as we have wars we will require warriors, and must never forget those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. The following represents a sample offering from some of America's editorial cartoonists, and how these often very astute visual artists see the meaning of the day.

I dream of a day without war...
~~