Sunday

The Memorialized

One of the stranger cultural shifts I experienced when I lived up North was the observance, or lack thereof, on Memorial Day. In many areas down South, Memorial Day is much more than bar-b-que and burgers; it's an encounter with personal history. Faithful family members visit the graves of ancestors from conflicts past - literally, their memorials - and decorate them with flowers and flags in a very public expression of acknowledgement and gratitude. 

I would encourage you this Memorial Day to make an effort to do likewise - even if the graveyard holds strangers, you are heir to their sacrifice.  Don't ask that a low-flying flag or official proclamation recognize the day on your behalf.   Go and give thanks. 
A  S.P.A.R. uniform, WWII.

Picture, Jackson Library, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

4 comments:

cotedetexas said...

My husband and daughter are taking his mom to the Veteran's Memorial Park to put flowers on his dad's grave. They go every year on Memorial Day.

ticklishfromadistance said...

GREAT post. And you are spot on-it is a big holiday down South. And for great reason.

Beth Connolly said...

Well done. Being in D.C., it is of course a big deal as it should be.

Chrisy said...

yes think people forget that these sort of days aren't for glorifying war rather for remembering the sacrifices...

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