What does it really mean, Memorial Day?

If I were a poet, it might be easier to express the feelings deep inside of me. Alas, a poet I am NOT! I've been reading post after post on FaceBook about Memorial Day and I've come to the conclusion my own feelings and expressions are, at best, trivial. Today I listened with broken heart of the deaths of more "warriors" in a far off place while we sit here in the peace and freedom they had given their lives to protect, for me, for you, and for those that they had never met or even heard of.

What is it that makes that young man or young woman sign their name to a contract to serve in the military? Boredom? No family? Money?(now that is a laugh) Adventure? No one really knows, until they have stood in his or her shoes. If they are embarking on a career in the military, perhaps they received an appointment or passed the exam for an academy, and this would guarantee them the education they need to pursue their dream as a doctor, lawyer, even President of the United States. Or maybe it was because their future looked bleak in their present situation, the way it was for my husband when he and his cousin decided to "join up". It does no good to speculate...only each individual knows what the real reason is.

One thing is sure, the path before them is not going to be easy. Boot camp??? I smile remembering the descriptions of "basic training"...the new recruit soon learns he is but a peon in a crowd of other peons, while someone in command says things about his mother that should not be repeated...And this is mild to what those first weeks will hold for them.

I remember when my son came to us and said he had enlisted in the army. I was at once both very proud and very fearful. I don't remember what I said at the time...but I do remember the ache in my heart. You see, I was looking at my tiny baby boy, remembering the first time I held him in my arms, a heart full of joy. Now he was a grown man, ready to serve his country, as his Dad had done for so many years. I wanted to hold him in my arms again, as I had that day in January 1965, but the only thing I could do was hold those memories close to my heart.

I have said all this to say...This Memorial Day is not like other ones in the past..today we are a nation at odds with each other, while men and women in another
place are struggling to stay alive and make a difference in this world. No, we will never be of "one voice"....diversity is what makes the world go around. But it breaks my heart to remember that we are what we are because of those "warriors"... those of the present, those of the past and those who made the ultimate sacrifice to assure you and me that the United States of America is still the "land of the free and the home of the brave".