Why We Celebrate Memorial Day

 

Why do we celebrate Memorial Day? I've heard that question often over the years of my life. Some people confuse it with Veteran's Day, and others wrongly identify it as the start of summer. So, what is Memorial Day about?

We celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday of May every year. It is a United States federal holiday, and it is meant to honor and to mourn military personnel who died in the line of duty. 

A Story About Why We Celebrate Memorial Day

Over the years I was growing up, my Dad told me many stories from when he was in the war and about the friends that he lost. One story stood out to me because it was about his neighbor Johnny, whom he had known since he was a little boy. Dad had watched Johnny grow up, and as he left to go to boot camp in Fort Benning, Georgia, 16 year old Johnny was on his porch next door and said goodbye and wished him good luck as Dad got into the car with my grandfather who was going to drive him to the train station. 

Years later, my father stayed in France after the war was over because he still had work to do. Dad was deployed in the Bomb Disposal unit working out of the chateau in Fontainebleau, and one day he got a letter from his mother with an unusual request. 

His neighbor Johnny had been killed in France earlier that year. The news upset Dad because he remembered the boy waving goodbye to him as he left home. Johnny’s mother asked if my father could find out where Johnny was buried in France and take a picture of the grave since she would never be able to go there to visit it.

Dad did some research, and he was able to discover where the grave was located – Les Gonards Cemetery near Versailles.

Dad and an Army buddy got into a Jeep and drove to the cemetery. When he saw Johnny’s grave he felt compelled to kneel down and say a prayer, and his buddy took a photograph of the moment. Dad sent two copies of the photo (one was for my grandmother) in a letter home, asking my Nana to please express his condolences to Johnny's mother. 

About a month later, my grandmother wrote back that even though the photograph meant so much to Johnny’s mother, she sat on the porch crying for hours holding that picture in her hand. 

Honoring and Remembering Those Lost

All these years later this story defines what Memorial Day is all about. It is the loss of life in service of your country, and as Johnny's crying mother indicates, there is a deep and abiding cost for the families of all those lost. It is as personal as anything can be, and all the folded flags and bereavement letters do nothing to bring that lost loved back or ease the pain.

So, when you question what Memorial Day is all about, think of Johnny's story. Think about all the other stories of all those lost in all the wars our country has fought. And, if you're a praying person, say a prayer for those who have been lost and their families. Their ultimate sacrifice should be honored and never forgotten.