Memorial Day

Here's a reminder for the uninformed: Please do not wish anybody a happy Memorial Day. 

That is akin to wishing someone a happy death anniversary. There is nothing happy about this day designated in 1868 to honor the soldiers killed in the Union Army during the Civil War. Two world wars expanded the holiday to include all men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. I can think of nothing more insulting than using the word ‘happy’ in the same sentence with Memorial Day.

Far too many Americans either are unaware of or choose to ignore the true meaning behind this day. It should not be just another excuse for a three-day weekend. It isn’t all about barbecues and baseball and the unofficial start of summer. And worst of all are the Memorial Day sales that are screamed about in endless television commercials.

This is the day to honor those who died defending our country and our freedoms. It is not the same as Veterans Day, which happens every year on November 11. Veterans Day is the appropriate day on which to recognize the service of all who are serving and who have served in our armed forces.

This simple distinction clearly is too difficult for most Americans to comprehend. The days are not the same. So please, this Memorial Day weekend, enjoy your barbeques and your parties. But please don't forget to honor the sacrifices of these men and women. 

Several years ago during a trip to France, my group visited and spent some time in private reflection at the American military cemetery in Normandy, This cemetery, whose land was given to the United States in gratitude for the liberation of France, is the final resting place of 9,387 American military who sacrificed their lives in the liberation of France on and following the June 6,1944, D-Day landing. 

More than 80 years later, visiting this hallowed site was an extremely touching experience. So many of the war dead were very young, their lives cut short in pursuit of a greater cause.

As an American, I find it discouraging and embarrassing that so much of our population is totally clueless about which holiday is which. If you have forgotten your civics lessons from high school, please spend five minutes doing some research so you can understand the difference.

So on this Memorial Day weekend, enjoy your parties and your barbeques. But please don't forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice, often thousands of miles from home. They deserve more on this holiday weekend than yet another 'sales event' or a barbeque.

The Greatest Sacrifice

Today is a special day in the United States. It's Memorial Day, a day set aside every year to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in serving our country.

Please take a moment from your barbeques, beers and family gatherings to remember those who died in service to our country. I have visited the American military cemetery in Normandy, France, and walked among the more than 9,300 graves there. I have seen the wall listing the names of those missing in action on D-Day. I have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (many times) in Washington, D.C., and touched some of the names engraved on its marble. I have visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington and watched the honor guards silently pay tribute to the war dead whose remains still have no names.

Although Memorial Day was set aside to honor America's human war dead, I also honor all the animals that died as well. Countless horses, donkeys and dogs contributed to the war effort. And dogs still serve, and die, with our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places.

This morning, as I started my day, I paused while listening to birds singing on the local classical radio station and thanked all those men, women and yes, animals, who died for our country. 

Please remember these warriors who sacrificed everything. 

The D-Day landings took place on the beaches below this cliff.

Pause. Remember. Reflect. Honor.

                                             Pause. Remember. Reflect. Honor.

As the United States today marks Memorial Day, please take a moment from your activities to Pause -- Remember -- Reflect -- and Honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives in service to our country.  

Our troops have gone to war in countries from Europe to Asia, in wars and actions both popular and reviled, and many never came home. Many were young people who never got the chance to get married, have a family and grow old. Many volunteered, while others were drafted but nonetheless did their service.

According to today's Albuquerque Journal, 1.3 million members of the US armed forces have lost their lives while defending our country:
 
Revolutionary War — 25,000
War of 1812 — 20,000
Mexican-American War — 13,283
Civil War — 625,000
Philippines — 4,196 (1899-1902)
World War I — 116,516
World War II — 405,399
Korea — 36,516
Vietnam — 58,307 (398 New Mexicans)
Iraq — 4,519 (47 from, or with close ties to, New Mexico)
Afghanistan — 2,396 (19 from, or with close ties to, New Mexico)

So today, pause whatever you are doing. Remember those who paid the ultimate price. Reflect on the lives lost, the families left behind and the sacrifices made. And honor them in whatever way is meaningful to you.

Not Just Another Holiday

Like many Americans, I typically have seen Memorial Day as little more than a day off work. Sure, I knew the meaning of the day, and I did give a silent thanks to those members of the US military who died in defense of our country. One year I took a guided tour of a local cemetery in California on Memorial Day. But that was about it.

Then I went on a wonderful hiking trip to France, and that trip changed everything.

France is a beautiful country known for its cuisine (the pain au chocolate -- a flaky pastry with chocolate inside -- is my favorite), its wines and cheeses, and its fashion. I ended my trip with two days in Paris, but I enjoyed the countryside regions of Normandy and Brittany much more.

The most moving part of the trip -- and my primary reason for going -- was a visit to Omaha Beach, where Allied forces won a hard-fought battle against German guns, land mines and machine guns. The D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, changed the course of the war.

At either end of Omaha Beach are 300-foot-high cliffs of rock. Due to a series of errors by the Allies, the first troops to reach the beach were mowed down by German machine gun fire. Bombs had missed their targets. Tanks sank in the ocean. Engineers tasked with clearing the beach of land mines were unable to complete their mission. Soldiers deployed in deep water found themselves sinking under the weight of their 80-pound packs. Guns got wet. Reports were that it was impossible to walk on the beach without stepping on bodies. But by the end of the day, the Allies were able to gain two tenuous footholds on the beach. 

Our French guide did a great job of explaining what happened on that beach. A German gun emplacement was visible nearby, as was a fortified machine gun nest. Because the tide was out, we could see remnants of a temporary harbor. The brainchild of Winston Churchill, the harbor is considered one of the greatest engineering feats ever. Two temporary harbors were built, one on Omaha Beach for American forces and one on Gold Beach for British and Canadian troops. This harbor allowed 220,000 men, 50,000 vehicles and 600,000 tons of supplies to be landed on the French coast, according to a Daily Mail story. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297365/Port-Winston-harbour-built-Normandy-D-Day-uncovered-seabed-69-years-on.html#ixzz4i9JJvYdJ)  

Parts of a temporary harbor constructed for the D-Day invasion 

are visible off Omaha Beach

 

As we walked along the beach, the four members of our group became quiet as we learned details of the battle and reflected on the bravery and sacrifices of the young men who fought there. Nearby, I could see a bit of Utah Beach, where my father -- a young sailor of 19 in the US Navy -- had taken part in the battle. His destroyer was quickly sunk by German fire. While some of his shipmates perished, he was picked up by a British war ship after spending some time in the cold waters of the Atlantic. 

That afternoon, we walked along part of the path that US troops had used on their way inland. We then had a couple of hours on our own to explore the US military cemetery at Colleville, high on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. 

The cemetery, on land donated by the French government in perpetuity, contains some 9,387 headstones -- either white marble crosses or Stars of David -- each inscribed with the name, military branch and dates of a service man who died during the invasion or ensuing military operations. Many of the graves are merely symbolic. Some of the deceased were repatriated to the US, while others were never found. Some headstones honor a soldier whose remains were never identified.

The cemetery is a place of sadness, knowing how many young lives were lost. And it is a place of beauty, with manicured lawns and a view of the beach where so many died. I was very moved as I walked among the headstones and through the visitor center. Although none of my family members perished in the war (both my father and uncles served), I nonetheless felt a great sense of sadness, as well as a sense of gratitude for their sacrifices. Our guide noted that during a previous tour of Omaha Beach, a veteran who had fought there commented that "I wasn't killed here, but I died here."

We have lost most of the D-Day survivors during the more than 70 years since this history-making battle. Estimates put the number of surviving veterans at between 5,000 and 10,000. In a few years, there will be no one left who took part in the horrendous battles on the beaches of France. 

I hope the passage of time will never erase the sacrifices of those men from several countries whose bravery marked the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany. Please, take a moment this Memorial Day to remember those who paid the ultimate price, during World War II, the Korean conflict, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Iraq and all the other armed conflicts. Fly the American flag. Go to a parade. Thank a member of our armed forces. 

However you choose to mark Memorial Day, please take a moment from your grilling or picnics or baseball games, and remember those who went to war and never came home.