Memorial Day 2023
Memorial Day, a day officially set aside to remember those who have died in active duty military service; that day is tomorrow. While I don’t personally know anyone who has died in active duty service, Memorial Day does trigger countless memories of many in my family who have served.
The one closest to me is my own father, who served active duty in the United States Navy in the early 1950s. He was aboard the battleship USS Iowa during the Korean War. I remember his stories of how the ship would rock and rumble when they fired the main 16” guns. Light bulbs would break. When they enjoyed the rare downtime, sailors would sunbathe on the deck between the main anchor chains.
Then there’s my mom’s side of the family. She was the youngest of four, her three older brothers having served. My uncles Oran and Richard served in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War. Oran was an air traffic controller with the Flying Tigers, supporting bombing missions over the “hump” in Burma.
I’m a little fuzzy on my uncle Richard’s service. I do know he was a bomb-navigator, flying on B-24 Liberators during missions in the Pacific. Fun fact: the planes he flew on were built in the Willow Run assembly plant that Henry Ford built just a few miles east of Ann Arbor, MI, his hometown.
Then there’s the youngest brother, uncle Johnny. John was too young to serve in WWII. That didn’t stop him from enlisting in the army and seeing action in Korea and Vietnam. John became a highly decorated career NCO, retiring with the rank of sergeant major. While I don’t remember what awards Johnny received other than the Purple Heart, I do know he was awarded for bravery when he pulled soldiers from a burning Jeep that had been hit by mortar fire. While I don’t know all of the injuries Johnny suffered, I do know there was sufficient shrapnel left in his body to set off metal detectors.
I also have cousins who served, one in the Navy and the other as an officer in the Army. Aside from Johnny’s injuries, my family has been fortunate enough never to have lost one of us in action. For that, I’m grateful.
Memorial Day is about remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. I don’t personally know anyone who was killed in action. That doesn’t stop me from giving pause to say a prayer for those KIA or MIA, missing in action. More importantly, I pause to say a prayer for the survivors of those thus touched by war. It’s those left behind that continue to suffer. I pray that they understand that their loved ones have moved on to a better place.
in years past, I’ve used Memorial Day weekend to read military history or watch a patriotic movie or two. This year I’m instead going to meditate on the freedom such sacrifices have bought. While the geopolitics of war is debatable, I’m not going to let such discussion taint the memory of those who have given their lives. May they rest in peace.
