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Will we barbecue? Probably.
Will we perhaps have an adult beverage? Probably.
Will we remember the fallen?
Absolutely.
Many view this weekend as the start of summer. Pools will be opened. Folks will go to the beach. People are going to enjoy themselves. It's what people do.
Should folks take a moment this weekend to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom? Yes, they should. Will everyone? Probably not.
In church on Sunday I will, as I do every Memorial Day Sunday, recite the names of those killed in the line of duty whom I wish to keep alive in my heart, in my memory.
For if they are remembered, are they truly gone?
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| Captain Carroll F. LeFon, Jr. United States Navy |
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| Lance Corporal Kurt E. Dechen United States Marine Corps |
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| Major Taj Sareen United States Marine Corps |
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| Lieutenant Nathan T. Poloski United States Navy |
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| Private Robert Bain Royal Scots Fusiliers (No photo available) (Source) |
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon
...and Buck
ReplyDeleteAlways.
DeleteBuck and Lex--hard for me to think of one w.o. the other as I spent so much time on their blogs. Two very real, special and unique people who are dearly missed..
DeleteRoger that Virgil.
DeleteI think of them both, every single day.
I think of my Dad's cousin, who died with the ALBACORE. I think about how much he looked like the BadgerDad, and how much I would have liked to have known him. http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/riley-f-a.htm
ReplyDeleteRemember him, it's important.
DeleteFrancis' loss was incredibly ironic. Towards the end of the War, the IJN was laying mines deep, to get our subs. The USN developed a FM mine hunting sonar for subs. It was ALBACORE's last war patrol, before having the sonar installed, and Francis' last patrol, as he was going to Pensacola, to be a Naval Aviator. ALBACORE hit a mine off of Hokkaido.
DeleteDamn.
DeleteScores of my relatives have served and are still serving. We are most fortunate that none have died in the line of duty since the Civil War. There are names I remember from families not so fortunate.
ReplyDeleteOther than my Great-great uncle Robert Bain, my family has not lost anyone in war.
DeleteToo many friends have gone, so many families whose loved ones paid the ultimate price. I never forget them.
Thank you for your service, and for your kid's as well.
ReplyDeleteThis was my uncle...
PFC Christopher S. Bryant USMC
KIA 17 May 1968
Operation Allen Brook
Panel 61E, Line 24
He was really a nice guy, my favorite unlce. He dropped out of college to join up. Felt it was his duty to fight.
It just got real dusty in here.
DeleteThanks for sharing that, STxAR.
Thank you for doing this ... It's important
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill. It's very important.
DeleteComing from a military family, Memorial Day has always been special for us.
ReplyDeleteYes, we always had a big family reunion each year on Memorial Day weekend
and my step-dad would usually cook a side of beef for the gathering but we
also gathered at Woodland Cemetery on Memorial Day to honor all those lost
serving the U.S. Even though he wasn't killed during WWII we would also
honor my Dad who died in '53 from Leukemia contracted from his battlefield
injuries in the war.
And now I go each year to the services at the Veterans Memorial in Warrensburg
to honor 3 very close friends whose names are on that granite Wall in Washington.
Ave Fortis Proeliators. Saluto Vos!!
Saluto omnes.
DeleteHoist one or more and keep faith with the fallen. Watch some children at play (the ones I'm watching are catching tadpoles just now) and smile. The dead have not died in vain.
ReplyDeleteNo, they have not, Shaun.
DeleteThey died so that we might live free. So LIVE I say!