Memorial Day
Memorial Day is the day we honor our war dead, the men and women who gave their lives in combat to protect our nation. This is a lineage that goes back to the American Revolution.
05/26/25
Tag Archives: memorial day
05/29/23
Memorial Day — Have We Earned It?
Memorial Day is the sacred day in American history when we reflect upon and honor our war dead. It is a day dedicated to those who gave their lives for our country and for us.
If you are near a Federal cemetery, it is a moving experience to visit it and read the names on the white marble crosses and headstones and know they are men whose lives were given to us so that our lives might be lived in freedom. Continue reading
05/28/21
Honor and Observe v Celebrate Memorial Day
Monday is Memorial Day, the day upon which we honor and observe, not celebrate, those who lost their lives in service to the Nation in the military during wartime.
Lance Corporal Eric Ward, a fourth-generation U.S. Marine, was killed in Afghanistan on February 21, 2010. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The United States is commemorating Memorial Day this Monday.
As a Nation, we ponder with solemnity the sacrifice these men and women made in service to the Nation.
05/24/20
Memorial Day — The View From Another Direction Revisited
I wrote this blog post last year. I still like it.
Having been an Army brat, having grown up on Army posts, having a mother and father who served in World War II, having a father who was a career soldier, having been educated at Virginia Military Institute, and having served in the Army for five years — I have a view of Memorial Day from a different point of the compass.
Both of my parents are buried in a military cemetery. This is the Central Texas military cemetery next to Fort Hood with the Hill Country in the background. It is hallowed ground.
Just a few years ago, it was a pasture. Now, it is filled as shown because a lot of soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
I went to school with men who are buried in places like this. Fifteen VMI graduates have been killed in the War on Terror.
05/27/19
Memorial Day — The View From Another Direction
Having been an Army brat, having grown up on Army posts, having a mother and father who served in World War II, having a father who was a career soldier, having been educated at Virginia Military Institute, and having served in the Army for five years — I have a view of Memorial Day from a different point of the compass.
Both of my parents are buried in a military cemetery. This is the Central Texas military cemetery next to Fort Hood with the Hill Country in the background. It is hallowed ground.
Just a few years ago, it was a pasture. Now, it is filled as shown because a lot of soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
I went to school with men who are buried in places like this. Fifteen VMI graduates have been killed in the War on Terror.
05/12/17
Jessica A Ellis, Combat Medic
Jessica A Ellis was a combat medic who was killed in Iraq on Mother’s Day 2008.
Sunday is Mother’s Day. It made me think of her.
May 29, Monday, is Memorial Day. I will think of her again.
On Sunday, I want you to take a second and think about the price of freedom and who we ask to pay it. If a tear comes to your eye, all the better.
Jessica A Ellis, combat medic, KIA 101st Airborne Division, Iraq, May 2008. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, M4 Expert marksman.
05/27/13
Honoring America’s War Dead
Big Red Car here. Cloudy, bit drippy and generally not “top down” weather. Likely reminds veterans of some of their worst days.
Today is Memorial Day — the day upon which America honors its war dead. It is a sad occasion. It is very sad to contemplate all of those lost lives in defense of our freedom. Continue reading
05/26/13
Duty — odious duty
Big Red Car here. Been raining cats and dogs here in the ATX.
The Boss was mumbling about planting some hibiscus and mandevilla vines along his big stone walls by the driveway — where your Big Red Car often bivouacs on a rainy night. [Hey, I like the idea of sharing my bunk with some cute red flowers. Get it, Big RED Car and big RED flowers? Haha, Big Red Car, you crack yourself up.]
But, alas, it has been too rainy for The Boss to do any planting, so he’s been watching the NBA tournament.