Memorial Day; What does it mean to you?

As on every Memorial Day, I think of three cousins I never had the chance to know:

Lawrence Eldon Woods of Greenwood, Texas, age 28. F1c, USS Oklahoma, US Navy. MIA, Pearl Harbor, HI Terr., 7 Dec 1941.

Winifred Oral Woods of Greenwood, Texas, age 25. MM1c, USS Oklahoma, US Navy. KIA, Pearl Harbor, HI Terr., 7 Dec 1941.

Gail Borden Mote of Alvord, Texas, age 20. Pfc, Co F, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, US Army. KIA, Normandy, France, 6 Jun 1944.

I always get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes whenever I hear our National Anthem. I lost an uncle in WWII. He was a medic. His overloaded medical supply plane took off from Guam and was never seen again. My mother never got over the loss of her brother because she said that he never received a proper burial. One of my friends went to Viet Nam as a marine. When he returned he was never the same as before he left. Always kind of distant and lost.

Memorial Day gives me pause to honor  the outstanding young people in our military. We are free because of their bravery and sacrifices.

I am flying our flag today. I hope that everyone is doing the same.

Sacrifice.

   Correct, today is about those who have fallen. Those of us still blessed to be here do have our own day.

Hi TB and all the rest,

My position on this is that Memorial Day isn't for you or me (25 years Navy service) or anybody else who is here to talk about it.  Memorial Day is when we remember ("memorialize") those who lost their lives in military service.

The rest of us have our day on 11 November, when we celebrate Veterans' Day.

I hate to be a grump about it, but this day is for those who gave it all.

Rick Heinbaugh
CDR, USNR, ret

Had a good look at the war in Yugoslavia. Lost a buddy whose unit was surrounded and nobody wanted to surrender. Still have a bomb fragment in my hand and the thing bellow missed me by few inches. It was still hot when I picked it up, said a loud "f... you all" and carried on.

Thank you for your service all.

To me it’s a time to honor, thank and pray for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and stayed forever young.

CPL George Robinson, AAC, who ould have been my uncle once removed.

SGT Baynes Mc Swain, AUS, P41W, Line 41, my first cousin.

CPT Robert 'Bobby' Cox, USMC, TAMU '82

CPT Tim Morrison, USMC, TAMU '78

CPT Kelly Castleberry, USMC, TAMU '82

2LT Zachary Cook, AUS, TAMU '08

Really, too many names; but all remembered.

A bunch of years back, I used to wear a POW/MIA bracelet honoring a U.S. Navy aircrewman, presumed killed / remains not recovered. (I recently got another one for a similarly classified PCF sailor). I wore it all the time, never took it off.

Then one day while giving a brief on the 'as sunk' model of ARIZONA, at the USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, one of the attendees stepped forward after the presentation and asked who the bracelet was for. I told the man about AO2 Clayborn Willis Ashby, and the story about his loss back in 1968. The man thought for a second and then told me, "He's been recovered". I was shocked, and then I noticed the logo on the mans shirt; U.S. Army - Central Identification Labratory, Honolulu, Hawaii.

That bit of news made my day; another one of our boys was finally home.

My number was due...  I'm not a water person, wasn't enthused about being hip deep in a rice paddy.  Figured that they don't park multi million dollar aircraft in the mud....so the AF was the option.  Spent my one year all expense paid vacation in sunny SEA at Udorn in Thailand.

While I missed the worst of it, I saw enough.

A few years ago the traveling wall was on display....what a somber and powerful experience.  I sat on the lawn and just cried.  That really brought it home.

Almost 50 years later, now I can appreciate what those that have gone before have provided for all of us.

I honor those that gave all, and those that gave some, not only on Memorial Day, but every day

THANK YOU ALL, I bow my head with utmost respect.

See Bill;

       You are so right. For many folks it's just that. Now that you didn't enlist or get a deferrement matters not to me. You do know the proper memorial Flag protocol and why. That's what I actually mean there.

       I just want to be cleaar. All I am asking here is for folks to think about those who gave some and those who gave all. They believed in this country as I do and I am sure you do. Politics be darned, I want to say it was even with the emotional scars I am Glad as an Immigrant I got to serve. I had that pounded into my head. Pay your country back for what It Has Given You.

 Oh, and for your thoughts Amen! ! 

"  Bother What? Bother getting shot at while you protested the war, or if you didn't protest then just remained Blase' about the whole thing".

Two entirely different things.

I was the first in a long line to not serve, because somehow I didn't get drafted and I did not want to volunteer. No defferments etc, Just my # didn't come up.

I think a lot of holidays in general become an opportunity for people otherwise engaged in heavy responsibilities to lighten up a little. Get together. Enjoy the company.

I know my F-in-L, five marks on his sleeve, liked nothing better than steaks on the grill, beans in the pot and a Bud in a coozie.

Note the Legion guidelines for the flag display.

Raise to peak and then lower at half mast at sunrise to honor and mourn for the lost. Raise smartly at noon to full peak to salute living veterans. Strike at sunset.

Perfect.

That's what Memorial Day means to me.

Bill

I used to think of Memorial Day as a paid day off, or extra money if I had to work, and that was about it.  But as I got older, and especially since going to work for the USAF as a civilian 10 years ago, I have developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for the day.  I still think it's important to enjoy the holiday with BBQs, and fun times.  Not doing so, in my mind, does a disservice to those who sacrificed to make us able to enjoy ourselves.  But at the same time, it's very important to remember the meaning of the day.

A big shout out to all who have served, and to those families who have lost someone in  service to our country.  Thank you!

    I thank you too TB as a shipmate and a combat vet, yea Desert Storm was my war. 4 months floating around the Persian Gulf, oil fire smoke, heat, pissed off Irainians, more heat......scud. No body will admit it but General Quarters is NOT called for a huge flash and a wayward F-18!!

      Thank you to all my brothers and sisters who have gone into harms way for OUR country.

Thank you, Tank-Builder. It irks me no end when someone wishes me a Happy Memorial Day! They just have no idea. Obviously, they have never had to hang a Blue Star or a Gold Star banner in the window. My family's service to our country goes back to the Civil War. A distant cousin named Claude was an infantryman in the Union Army. He was captured during Sherman's March and held as a P.O.W. at Stone Mountain in Georgia. Since then, men (and some women) on both sides of my family have proudly served in uniform. My dad had his twenty-first birthday three weeks before Pearl Harbor. After the attack, he promptly enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp and served as a flight instructor and B-29 crewman. Twenty-five years later, I enlisted in the Air Force and served on a pilot training base in Georgia.

Thank you for your thoughtful post. Memorial Day is about rememberance and being grateful to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. As the phrase says: All gave some. Some gave all. Thank a veteran and remember the fallen with reverence.

Thanks. Tank-Builder.