Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Unfortunately, our country is going through a season of rewriting history. There is a movement afoot to eradicate anything and everything that is not politically correct. Statues in public places are removed; names of college buildings, streets and public places are renamed. Whatever makes people uncomfortable is subject to revision.

Memorial Day hasn’t as yet fallen under the sway of correctness. Established as Decoration Day at the end of the Civil War and later renamed Memorial Day, becoming a national holiday in 1971. What began as a memorial to the 498,332 soldiers who died in the Civil War (more deaths than any other war fought by our country), is now a poignant reminder of the massive cost of our freedom.

Recently, I read this quote from Dark Cloud – Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop: “Memorials help us remember by making us feel the weight of a tragedy. Without them, we are prone to forget and repeat the mistakes of the past. They remind us that there are lessons to be learned.”

Driving by our city cemetery today, I saw men and women, veterans, walking from grave to grave, placing an American flag in front of veterans’ markers. It is a cold, windy spring day that wasn’t stopping the honoring of those long gone who served their country. What a testimony to the character of people who made history instead of trying to sanitize it.

Seeing those crisp American flags blowing in the wind, sent chills down my spine thinking of all that has gone before so that I might enjoy our way of life. I am reminded of this verse from Ecclesiastes: “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.”

Memorial Day is a time to remember and mourn all who have laid down their lives for our freedom.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

During the terrible days of the Vietnam War, I was in the seminary and exempt from the draft. I was shielded from the harsh reality of war except for the evening news that graphically displayed the horrors of war. Those years of political and social unrest created scars in our country that can never be erased.

Today is our national holiday that calls us to remember the price those men and women have paid with their lives. We often hear that freedom is not free because it comes at a heavy cost of human life. Since the founding of our nation over one million lives have been sacrificed in war for our freedom.

In 1868 on the bloody battlefield at Gettysburg, the first Decoration Day was held honoring the Civil War dead. At that dedication it was said, “For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” The Civil War claimed a half million lives, more lives lost than that of either World War I or World War II.

Memorial Day was designated a national holiday in 1968. It is a tradition in our national cemeteries that on this day an American flag be placed on every grave to honor those who have served their country in the cause of freedom. In our fast paced world it is easy to forget that this holiday is a time to pause and reflect of the price paid in human life for our freedom.

I am reminded of the words Jesus spoke facing the reality of his own death which would release humankind from the chains of enslavement. “No one has greater love nor stronger commitment than to lay down his own life for his friends.”

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

During the terrible days of the Vietnam War, I was in the seminary and exempt from the draft. I was shielded from the harsh reality of war except for the evening news that graphically displayed the horrors of war. Those years of political and social unrest created scars in our country that can never be erased.

Today is our national holiday that calls us to remember the price those men and women have paid with their lives. We often hear that freedom is not free because it comes at a heavy cost of human life. Since the founding of our nation over one million lives have been sacrificed in war for our freedom.

In 1868 on the bloody battlefield at Gettysburg, the first Decoration Day was held honoring the Civil War dead. At that dedication it was said, “For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” The Civil War claimed a half million lives, more lives lost than that of either World War I or World War II.

Memorial Day was designated a national holiday in 1968. It is a tradition in our national cemeteries that on this day an American flag be placed on every grave to honor those who have served their country in the cause of freedom. In our fast paced world it is easy to forget that this holiday is a time to pause and reflect of the price paid in human life for our freedom.

I am reminded of the words Jesus spoke facing the reality of his own death which would release humankind from the chains of enslavement. “No one has greater love nor stronger commitment than to lay down his own life for his friends.”