Memorial Day Tribute - Honoring Our Heroes

When I was a kid, my grandma would make sure that all our family members in our local cemetery had flowers on their graves.  So, for a long time that's what I thought Memorial Day was - remember family members who have passed on - whether you knew them personally or not.  And to a certain degree, that's part of it.  But then I got older (and grandma passed away) and I learned that it's meant to honor those in the military who were killed in action.  The greatest lesson on this for me came when I was in 8th grade and on a school trip to Washington DC.  There are two things we visited there that made a significant impact on me and that I remember vividly even 14 years later - one is the National Holocaust Museum, the other is the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.  If you are ever in DC for a significant length of time, these are the two places you absolutely MUST see.  Not because they are fun, but because they put so much into proper perspective.

Since it's Memorial Day, I want to focus on the Tomb of the Unknowns (I'm sure I'll get to talk about the National Holocaust Museum another time).  With all the selfishness that I see in the world, it is good to step back and recognize people who lived through horrific things and people who willingly gave up a great portion of their lives to keep the rest of us safe (some who gave up their lives, full stop).  And since I can't go to Arlington today, I can at least take ten minutes of time and blog space to pay tribute to these heroes.

Also, courtesy of The Right Fangirl, here is President Reagan's speech at the National Funeral for the Unknown Solider of the Vietnam Conflict.  Seems appropriate -