Honoring Heroes Reflects Our Culture

“Since the inception of the United States of America on July 4, 1776, every generation of Americans have been called on to defend freedom and liberty. Over the years more than forty two million American men and women have served their country in time of war." -Memorial Day Foundation

The Memorial Day Foundation is a great source to remember why this date is set aside. A partial list of why is written in the statistics of those who died to establish and protect the American way of life.

With data from their site:

A Partial Picture of US Military Casualties
Revolutionary War, 1775 - 1783: 4,435
Mexican War, 1846 - 1848: 13,283
Civil War North, 1861 - 1865: 364,511
Civil War South, 1861 - 1865: 199,110
World War I, 1917 - 1918: 116,516
World War II, 1941 - 1946: 405,399
Korean War, 1950 - 1953: 36,574
Vietnam, 1965 - 1975: 58,209
Operation Endure Freedom Afghanistan, 2001 - Present: 1,026
Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2003 - Present: 4,415

In 1941, our nation was on the verge of war. George Lent was seventeen when he enlisted in the Navy. His mother wasn’t thrilled. But she was a widow and he threatened to run away and join any way if she didn’t, so she signed. Stationed in San Francisco, a movie was about to start when someone grabbed his shoulder, telling him, “Sailor, you better go report. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.”

His great war injury wasn't on a foreign battlefield. In Virginia, an ethnic gang jumped him. Arm broken, he was admitted to  Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he met a pretty Puerto Rican WAVE, Ethel Sepulveda. With a degree in chemistry, Ethel was working as an occupational therapist. The doctor on duty thought they made a cute couple. So George stayed in the hospital maybe a little longer than he might have otherwise.

That is the story of how my parents met. Growning up with both parents having served in the military, honoring those willing to risk their lives for freedoms children take for granted verged on sacred tradition 

Memorial Day was not as a sad day, but more like an Irish wake, where the sacrificed lives were celebrated and held up as eternal heroes.

As the sun rose on Memorial Day, the family’s American flag with 48 stars was retrieved from where it was properly folded. It was hung on the side of the house from a bamboo pole, cut from a clump in the backyard, stripped of its leaves and outfitted for duty with a couple cup hooks.

As in all cultures when the dead are remembered, the food was ample. The smoke from hot dogs and hamburgers barbecuing mixed with the smell of coals drenched in lighter fluid. It was a day of simple extravangances.

Instead of bread, there were real buns, potato chips and sodas, although not usually the name brand. My parents didn’t spring for Coke or Pepsi when a store brand soda would do. My mother always baked a cake from a boxed mix. The three of us girls took turns whipping frosting out of shortening and powdered sugar with a little artificial vanilla flavoring.

My parents are now both gone. But their regard for the holiday remains embedded in family tradition. Memorial Day coincides with some of the most overflowing abundance in the garden. 

Sometime this weekend, I will take sharp clippers and  a vase filled with cool clean water to walk among the roses, geraniums, alstromeria and ferns. The fullest flowers will grace the table as a floral offering to the family celebration.   

I wish you all a Memorable Memorial Day. Put up the flag. Rev up the barbecue. Give flowers. Whatever you are doing at 3 p.m., stop to pray for God Speed to all who serve us. Past, present and future.