Memorial Day.
What does it mean to you?
Does it mean a three-day weekend with steaks on the barbecue? A day to do yard work or clean the house? Maybe you’re spending the extra day visiting family.
I have to admit that it’s hard not to get caught up in the joy that accompanies a day off while glossing over the reason for it. However, I found myself getting focused on the holiday last week when the classes I subbed for were assigned to watch the movie Pearl Harbor.
The students sat in rapt attention as the drama played out. Some of them had never seen the movie. And while they all knew about the historic day itself, I think that the characters really drove home some issues. Sure, they were fictional, but the personal storyline most likely occurred time and time again throughout history…
Men and women felt it their duty and honor to serve. Their lives did not stop despite being in the fight of their lives. Each person who served gave up something…loved ones, innocence, and often their very lives.
I am a naturalized citizen…a freedom made available by the selfless service of others. Many men and women alike paid the ultimate price to ensure that I would have the right to read a Bible in public and have my voice heard (however contrary it might be to public opinion)…among a myriad of other such freedoms.
A few years ago, we traveled to Arkansas for a soccer tournament. On the way, we stopped in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to do a little sightseeing.
Vicksburg is filled with history, being the site of a 47-day siege during the Civil War. We toured the Vicksburg National Military Park, which is home to a cemetery. I quietly walked around, choosing my steps carefully out of respect to those at rest, reading off some of the names of the soldiers buried there. Both Union and Confederate soldiers lie together. I found it poignant. Ultimately, this country would be united, despite the lengthy war that nearly tore it apart.
When I was a teenager, my family traveled to Washington, D.C. We did the usual “tourist” things…visited the Smithsonian, took pictures at the Lincoln Memorial, and walked the grounds of Monticello.
The most memorable part of that trip was the visit to Arlington Cemetery. We were privileged to watch the Changing of the Guard.
It was a somber ritual…one befitting those who died in service to this country.
May we never cease to honor those who carry the banner for freedom.
Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: Arlington National Cemetery, memorial day, Vicksburg | 1 Comment »
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