Guest Post

HAVE A BOOK TO PROMOTE? Lyrical Pens welcomes guest posts. Answer a questionnaire or create your own post. FYI, up front: This site is a definite PG-13. For details, contact cjpetterson@gmail.com cj

Sunday, May 27, 2018

A three-day weekend?


cj Sez:  Because I think this information is important and needs to be repeated often . . .
All sacrificed some; some sacrificed all.

Q. What is the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?

A. Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty.

Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.

It wasn't always called Memorial Day — it used to be known as Decoration Day. cj Sez: When I was little, we called it Poppy Day instead of Decoration Day. Whatever the name, it's a day of remembrance for all those who have died in service of the United States of America.

Born of the Civil War, Memorial Day began as a holiday honoring Union soldiers, and some states still have separate Confederate observances. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it on May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day on Jan. 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day. (In this era of intolerance and cries to erase visible traces of our sad history, the memorials respecting Confederate soldiers who died fighting for what they believed in may not continue much longer.)

The date of the first Decoration Day, the 30th of May, 1868, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular Civil War battle.

In 1915, inspired by the rondeau poem “In Flanders Fields” (penned by Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae while still at a World War I battlefront), Moina Michael conceived the idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.

The thoughts below are from the Facebook of Janie Delchamps Zetsch of Dauphin Island, AL, a veteran and member of AL Post 250. It says everything. Janie told me it had been a repost and gave me permission to use it here. Please take a minute to read it all the way through.

“Just a reminder of what we celebrate next weekend. I am but one of millions of proud veterans, however it is not about us. It is to honor those that made the ultimate sacrifice during battle, and to honor those that served and have now gone onto their eternal rest. The following, pointed, reminders are provided for your use, knowledge and perhaps to teach a child what we celebrate and honor on Memorial Day.

Here's some ground rules for next weekend:
1. Don't wish me a Happy Memorial day. There is nothing happy about brave men and women dying.
2. It's not a holiday. It's a remembrance.
3. If you want to know the true meaning, visit Arlington or your local VA, not Disneyland.
4. Don't tell me how great any one political power is. Tell me about Chesty Puller, George Patton, John Basilone, Dakota Meyer, Kyle Carpenter, Mitchell Paige, Ira Hayes, Chris Kyle and any other heroes too numerous to name. Attend a Bell Ceremony and shed some tears.
5. Don't tell me I don't know what I am talking about. I have carried the burden all too many times for my warriors who now stand their post for God.
6. Say a prayer... and then another.
7. Remember the Fallen for all the Good they did while they were here.
8. Reach out and let a Vet know you're there, we're losing too many in "peace". God Bless those who fought and died and served this nation for our freedom.”
***

cj Sez:  I owe an awesome debt--one that I can never repay--to the heroes who died so that my family and I can live in freedom. I pray God’s blessings and comfort rain down on their families.

Qrtly newsletter sign-up:  cjpetterson@gmail.com

1 comment:

Your turn! Got a question or comment? The author would love to hear it. (Comments are moderated to reflect the Lyrical Pens brand, so please keep it clean, else it gets dumped into that little chamber pot in the sky.)