Guest Voices

Take Back Memorial Day

I opened the paper and a series of circulars spilled onto my lap – bright, colored pages with bold fonts and frenetic language: “Now through Memorial Day only!” and “A Don’t Miss Memorial Day Sales Event!” As I took a deep breath and gathered up the pages that had spilled to the floor, at once it struck me: We owe more than commerce to those who sacrificed the balance of their lives for their country. It's time to take back Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is meant to be a solemn occasion, a uniquely military holiday—the only one that honors fallen soldiers. But since the first one on May 30, 1868, a little after the Civil War (then known as “Decoration Day”) when flowers were placed on the graves of soldiers from both the North and the South, Memorial Day’s quiet reverence has slowly been lost to the noise of commerce and the American pursuit of recreation. This didn’t happen overnight; it sneaked up on us. And it’s not necessarily the fault of the American people who time and again have proved themselves patriots.

Even more surprising is that this disappointing trend hasn’t ebbed since the Long War began more than five years ago. Today the solemnity once associated with this day should be closer to the surface. Our nation is at war, which is to say our friends, family, and neighbors are fighting. Some of them do not make it home. In recent years, too many Americans have been personally touched by the sacrifice of battle. But the unfortunate reality is that for most people, the war remains a distant concept, something that happens on TV.

Losing brave Americans on fields of strife is not a new phenomenon. It’s part of our heritage. For over two hundred and twenty five years, our troops have made the ultimate sacrifice for what they believed was worth more than their own lives: Freedom. Not just the notion of freedom or the sound bite called forth in politically expedient ways, but freedom practiced by Americans every day.

This freedom is a gift across time, given most often anonymously. And now it is Memorial Day. How can Americans take it back and do right by the valor that created this day?

By action. For starters, the National Moment of Remembrance resolution asks that at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day all Americans should “voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence.”

Beyond that, Americans can honor the dead by supporting the living, especially those who serve. Send a note or visit the family of a service member who has died. Visit a veteran who is convalescing. Make a donation to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Armed Forces Relief Trust, or the Armed Services YMCA. Volunteer to work with local veterans’ groups. Encourage your employer to publicly recognize the veterans who work with you. Better yet, commit to hire veterans or military spouses in the coming year.

Visit the graves of fallen soldiers. Leave a flower on the stone. Consider the grave and behold the cost of freedom.

Or simply shake a Soldier’s hand. Support for the troops is more than a sticker on an SUV. Whatever we do, let’s make it personal, not commercial.

Let us take back Memorial Day, not for abstract ideas or guilt for having forgotten, but to pay a debt. To remember—and to act on the memory—is the least we can do for the men and women who said, “I will die so strangers’ lives will be better.” Make Memorial Day a personal reflection of a stranger’s costly gift.

Christopher P. Michel is s founder and Chairman of Military Advantage, the nation's largest military and veteran membership organization. He also served as a Naval Flight Officer in the United States Navy. He is a regular contributor to military.com.

By Christopher Michel |  May 28, 2007; 8:36 AM ET
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Posted by: Anonymous | May 30, 2007 12:34 PM
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I thought Memorial Day this year was a little creepy. We are ensnared in this weird war, and there is a whole class of people who expect us all to snap to attention, and be resepctful and patriotic on Memorial Day. But pardon me, if I feel a little queasy.

Posted by: Daniel | May 30, 2007 10:47 AM
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"The notion of real liberty, to hold your beliefs, say your piece and at least be respected, has been sold off to spin doctors and professional liars. There is no respecting those who dare speak against the group think."

Hear Yeah, hear yeah....take back the USA and let freedom reign for all not just for some.

Posted by: Freevoice | May 30, 2007 12:18 AM
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America's had more than Memorial day removed.

A great number of those things so many young Americans lost their lives for, are part of history now. The notion that people come first, that every one is important, has been suborned into the concept that all are cogs in a great economic machine.

The notion of real liberty, to hold your beliefs, say your piece and at least be respected, has been sold off to spin doctors and professional liars. There is no respecting those who dare speak against the group think.

America, for many of the dead, was a land their folks came to from lands all around the world to escape arbitrary war and conquest. Now Americans take 'freedom' all around the world - and to some places on the end of the bayonet and the muzzle of the gun.

The voice of the people has been bought and sold, disenfranchised and ignored by powerful men.

Taking back Memorial Day is a good place to start taking back America.

Posted by: K. Quinn | May 28, 2007 11:20 PM
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It seems that some people cannot help themselves...they have to play the blamegame which is politics as usuall....hé pointing the finger in another directions always feels good and diverts attention away from the blamer.

I thank the author for his article and poster Michael for his great observation...this is what happens when you want kwantity over quality. Honor and valor is only for fools...and it is a sad state of affair for America and humanity at large.

Posted by: Freevoice | May 28, 2007 9:43 PM
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oh, LIGHTEN UP. a few comments on what y'all have said... first of all, we are not "at war." we are engaged in George's Big Adventure, and the majority of us now think - some of us have thought all along - that it's a pretty bad and counterproductive exercise, which is weakening us from a military perspective and bankrupting us economically. To hear the president musing piously on soldiers who (to paraphrase) "don't want war, but answered the call when it came."
Which, by the way, is something he didn't really do himself back in the Vietnam days... occasionally showing up to protect the airspace above Texas notwithstanding. The current fiasco is often compared to Vietnam by critics, but I would submit that despite the trickery leading to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, the nation as a whole (whether or not they agreed) knew at least who we were supposed to be fighting (Commmunism), sacrificed then - through the draft, and saw more clearly the consequences of war - through the media, "body counts," etc.
Nowadays, it is not always clear whom we are "at war" with - Shiite? Sunni? Both? It would seem that we are engaged in sporadic combat between two sides of a civil war - albeit not always all of either side, and not always the same figures and groups. (Al Qaeda is there - to the extent that they are - because our invasion opened the window, and they were only too glad to climb through)
Minus the draft, and minus a war tax to fund this debacle, the only ones sacrificing are members of our armed forces and their families. Our overstretched volunteer army, in which wealthy whites are underrepresented, is being asked to serve 3 and 4 tours with less than a year off in between. And it is only recently that the government has been more than secretive about the identities and numbers of those who fall.
The great thing about today is that we can mourn the sacrifice of our loved ones and celebrate their lives, not that we can come together in patriotic unity to support the misguided goals which they pursused and still pursue in Iraq.
And yes, just as on and during almost every other holiday, things go on sale. So what? Ignore it if you want, or use the day as a day off to get together with friends. I see nothing wrong with avoiding the annual orgy of patriotism... the last refuge of scoundrels, and a disguise behind which Bush & Co. are hiding, hoping people will forget who is entirely to blame for the loss of thousands of American lives, millions of American friends and sympathizers, and billions of American dollars.

Posted by: the Rev. Dr. Gould | May 28, 2007 8:08 PM
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The first step in taking back Memorial Day is to return it to it's original date, May 30. We do not need another four day weekend where we can run out shopping; our Sunday paper is crammed with ads, usually written in huge type with lots of exclamation points. Too many people are working while the idle rich are taking their usual ease. Memorial Day should be a solemn day, not highlighted by the phony piety of leaders who have sent so many American soldiers to death and injury.
For God's sake, close ALL the stores so employees can spend the day as they choose. This year
perhaps we should pray for God's forgiveness as well.

Posted by: Dorothy Conley | May 28, 2007 1:56 PM
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"this disappointing trend"

From this washingtonpost/newsweek religious forum where this day is barely given a nod to google.com where today is just another day -this isn't a trend: its a schism... Aren't these the people who should be most concerned about freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion? Oh. Google has aready nixed that freedom of speech thing for some. A definite maybe for others...

"Our nation is at war, which is to say our friends, family, and neighbors are fighting. Some of them do not make it home."

America's military is at war. The rest of America is at Walmart buying stuff "made in China".

Posted by: michael | May 28, 2007 11:56 AM
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