Do you think this special day keeps its significance or is it slowly losing its meaning?
What does Memorial Day mean to you personally? How do you honor and remember the sacrifices of those who served?
- 3.4K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.
It's a funny thing, but at any given moment at any given point of the year, I don't think much about it. It is not like Christmas or - my favorite holiday - Easter Sunday.
In my family, the big get together holidays are Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, and Easter Sunday. (When we were kids, Halloween was also on that list.) The "everybody scatters and does their own thing" holidays are New Year's Eve/New Year's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Memorial Day. For the latter, there may be a family event or not, but attendance is not "universal."
For example, as a kid in high school, for Memorial Day and Independence Day I would go to my gfd's house. Her family lived in a house on the lake and they would throw a big party and I would generally go to that.
Of course, in my family, for Memorial Day we would put out the flag, but otherwise for the most part, I did not give it much thought. I knew what the holiday was about and I respected and honored that, but for me - a warm weather guy - it was about the onset of real summer weather and the like.
That is, until I stopped to think about it. I had a great grandfather who served in the Navy in World War I. A grandfather who served in the Navy in World War II - more about which anon. Two uncles who served - one in the navy, one in the army - in the Korean War. A best friend who was a F-14 carrier pilot in the Persian Gulf War of 1990 - 1991.
Then suddenly, it means something very different. My mother's parents eloped - northern Italian and southern Italian in-laws don't get along - in January of 1941. My mother was born 9 days after Pearl Harbor and my grandfather was drafted and went off to war 2 weeks after that. My grandmother - decades later - still talked about how she cried as she was left with a little baby and how, barely a year after they were married, she bid farewell to her husband, not knowing if she would ever see him again.
Happily, he did survive and came home - and that story brings tears to the eyes. However, when you hear the whole tale, you are suddenly made aware of what sacrifice really is. Particularly in this age when the word "sacrifice" is thrown about with much vehemence and little thought.
Then there was my best friend. A navy pilot who was sent off to war and missed the birth of his first child. I still talk to his wife about how she felt. She is a natural optimist - a lovely person - but you can still see the tears well up in her eyes. One of the most beautiful moments in her life with her husband - and she was alone.
Then suddenly, Memorial Day means something. My family members and my best friend all lived and for them, war was pain and loss and suffering. Then you just imagine what it must mean to those who will never see a loved one again. Those who left their child behind, never to see him or her again.
That is when - and it is in the flash of a moment - it hits me just what Memorial Day means. My family and I may not do much more than put up the flag on the house. We have friends over. We go to the pool. In church the Sunday before we say a prayer.
Yet never doubt - it means something. Something hard to express in words and for those who don't share that, well, it says more about you. Those who of us, like me, who have not served, must strive to be good citizens and also to remember that the first virtue is gratitude. That is what Memorial Day is all about.
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I've known people who have served. My grandfather served in the Korean war, and he had a brother that died in that same war. I remember when my grandfather died, the city council of our town gave me a flag and the legion came to the funeral and shot their rifles into the air. I forget how many shots they fired, I could be wrong, but I thought they shot a certain number for some reason.
Unfortunately, my narcissistic aunt took the flag. She almost threw it away one time. She has no respect for anyone. No one. I had a couple friends that served in Iraq, and another one in the military now, and I think she's overseas right now. I think she's some type of sergeant. I haven't seen her in a long time.
This United States is slowly drifting away from caring about these people that put their lives out there so others can have better ones. A lot of politicians don't care, they mock their education, honestly, I would think you would have to think a person would have to think on their feet in the military, no matter what branch they are a part of.
Nothing is ever simple, or easy as it sounds. Same thing when people tell me they think writing is easy. I always tell them sit down and write a book then. Proof reading, spell checking, fact checking, research, editing, re-editing, it can get difficult.
I really hope all this violence in the world ends soon. People often disregard that our militaries prevent a lot of unwanted courses of action and violence. I wanted to go into the Navy, but my Asthma was too bad :(
I hope everyone stays safe out there this weekend :)
I celebrate this special day by going to a memorial service with my friends who had relatives that did serve in the military. But I go each day always honoring 🎖 them each day, without them we would be slaves.
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This Memorial Day blew me away for all the people that have served from this day back that had died is like a slap in the face because where our government is taking us at this moment it almost seems like all those people died in vain they gave up their lives for nothing is what I feel I know that's not true but that's what I feel at this moment and I'm talking about every country because every country right now is doing the same thing as every other country the people the little people have been sold out and I'm just totally disgusted I feel bad for the families of all Fallen Soldiers all the people that served to make this country great but we've all been sold out is what I feel I can tell you what's going to happen in every single country every country is going to go to a no form of money the government is the one that is going to be in charge of their money so now in every country the government has everybody's money and everybody all the little people have no money once our governments in every country have the people's money they have full control of everybody in their own countries
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Just another holiday.
No point having a day that you enjoyed smoked meats and bbqs with beer when every year plenty of veterans commit suicide.No point in such a holiday when every year a few hundred veterans become homeless.
No point in such a holiday if every year veterans that need help by the thousands get their cases lost deep within the system.
But thanks for serving as somebody needs to use those F35s so my Lockheed Martin and Raytheon stocks continue to go up in price.
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Its not just soldiers or just Americans but all those people who have died so others may live, are the guardians, the ultimate protecters of humanity. Those fallen angels, have given their lives. Thatis mire than what polititions, kings, presidents, ceo's of fortune 500 companies, celebrities and others alive have given.
There should be one international memorial day or a week for all those real life heroes. Its not just soldiers but also cops, firefighters, guards and ordinary people standing up to protect innocent people from offencive ones, like strangers stopping bullies and streetfights but end up getting killed.
All the heroes deserve the whole world taking a knee in the honor of their ultimate sacrifice. -
To all the men & women who fought & died to protect the freedoms we have in this country 🇺🇸🦅🗽 especially protecting the right to vote & practice our faith. I'm sincerely grateful & honored that you gave your life to protect the freedoms we have in this country
May people all across this great country never forget your love & dedication to the united states - so we can have those rights - 2.4K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.
I don't believe in dumb day's of let's think about this today but then it matters no other days. It's hypocritical as if it actually mattered you would care all year not just this day.
And I am smart and honest enough to admit I don't really care, I go on with my life barely thinking about lives I didn't know like almost everyone on this planet. -
Means I get to feel good by celebrating those who sacrificed themselves for us here in America as well as to those still fighting against the Marxist communist fascist regime currently trying to destroy our country from the inside
- 8.4K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic. m
Honoring the troops that have served. And the ones that have lost their life
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I don't know anyone personally who served and died so it means nothing to me.
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I think about my parents who were both WW2 vets and all my uncles who were as well.
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That and making sure I desire what’s right for them like expanded VA services. Not calling for more bullshit wars. Etc.
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This question was in notification, but I don't know anything about it, so I can't give comment about it.
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I celebrate it because we should enjoy the freedom that was fought for and the sacrifices our hero’s made for us to live free
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It depends now knowing they died for good reasons or lies.
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It means honoring the memory of those who gave their lives in service to our country
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It means remembering My papa whom I lost not long ago who was a veteran
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A day to celebrate the loss of menaces who go to other countries they have no business in to destroy
- 9.9K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.
Remembering the guys who served for our country
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Means I can't buy my can of coke late at night
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Nothing, it doesn't mean anything to me
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It means I have to go to work
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