Remember

Monday May 26, 2008

About.com's Robert Longley traces the history of Sen. Daniel Inouye's (D - Hawaii) quest to return meaning and history to the celebration of Memorial Day, and once again, our congress is not interested. Preferring bar-b-ques and a three day weekend, Sen. Inouye's Memorial Day bill has, once again in 2007, been relegated to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it will likely remain without ever being debated on the floor of the Senate. I can't find evidence that he reintroduced the bill again in 2008, but I am inclined to forgive him since he remarried yesterday.

Sen. Inouye has always interested me because my Uncle Dick, my father's brother, served with him in Europe. I believe they spent time together in war hospitals. Sen. Inouye lost his arm and my uncle battled polio. So, for years and years, we received a Christmas card with a personal note from Sen. Inouye. A bright spot in the annual celebration, the card was a connection to exotic places and to the war we had hoped would end all wars.

While Uncle Dick served in Europe, my eighteen year old father, a Marine, fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Later, another Uncle served in the Korean War and my husband served in Germany as a radio operator during the Vietnam War. My family has always been lucky. Our men always came back. So Veteran's Day has always wrought the most memories. Not everyone has been as lucky as we have been.

My Dad and Uncle have died now, but they led long lives following the war. Unfortunately, many fallen heroes will not. But our nation will pause for a moment of remembrance on Memorial Day. Said President George W. Bush:

"'No words are adequate to console those who have lost a loved one serving our nation. We can only offer our prayers and join in their grief,' Bush said. 'We grieve for the mother who hears the sound of her child's 21-gun salute. We grieve for the husband or wife who receives a folded flag. We grieve for a young son or daughter who only knows dad from a photograph.'
"Suggesting ways in which Americans can honor the sacrifices the holiday recognizes, Bush said people can join a moment of remembrance that will be marked across the country at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. At that moment, Major League Baseball games will pause, the National Memorial Day parade will halt, Amtrak trains will blow their whistles, and buglers in military cemeteries will play 'Taps.'
"Bush also encouraged people to participate by placing a flag at a veteran's grave, taking family members to the battlefields where freedom was defended, or saying a silent prayer for Americans who died in service to their country."

_{Image © Elvis Santana}