Memorial Day 2016

Yukla 27 Memorial at Elmendorf, Alaska.  link

On Sunday there was a poignant article in the Washington Post on the topic of Memorial Day.  It fits well with how I have been thinking of the holiday this year.

I am a veteran, but as I have said many times on this blog and elsewhere, the service I was called upon to give was relatively risk free.  In that era in Berlin, although our mission was important and we received regular feedback on the value of of our work, we were more likely to injure - or kill - ourselves based on our immature hi-jinks than under any kind of hostile fire.  

Still, there are those who served with me who did lose their lives, and I wanted to be sure and pause a moment to remember them, and their loved ones and families, this year.

It seems the best way for me to do this is to repeat the original proclamation from 1868, made by General John Logan in May 1868:

“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.”

While Mary and I won't have a chance to visit any of those graves today, we will take a moment to pause and reflect on these, and to be thankful for all of the opportunity given us because of their sacrifice.