Memorial Day, Decoration Day, and Every Day

It's May 30, referred to as Decoration Day in the years soon after the Sectional War, when people would go to cemeteries to decorate the graves of soldiers as a way of memorializing that devastating conflict of the 1860's.  It eventually became our present-day celebration of Memorial Day.

There's a spirit of every holiday and occasion that is worth maintaining every other day of the year.  Having Decoration Day May 30 fall the day after the Memorial Day observance of May 29 this year 2017 gives me reason to think about what to carry forth from Memorial Day.

The Memorial Day ceremony I attended at Abraham Lincoln National VA Cemetery near Elwood, IL, was so well done, and gave me much inspiration.  As the MC expressed it as his hope, I left the ceremony changed.  This was in large part because I heard personal stories from people who are part of the Lincoln Cemetery community and what they've gone through, especially a man who served in recent conflicts in the Middle East and is plagued by survivor's guilt day after day.

Then I think of the personal stories that are shared each year at the National Memorial Day Concert.  War devastates those who are injured and those close to them, as well as those left behind when someone is killed while serving.  These people live with the after effects of war every day, making every day Memorial Day for them.

It is clear that great sacrifices were made to preserve this country, some making the ultimate sacrifice.  We truly need an occasion like Memorial Day to help keep us constantly aware of those who bear great wounds.  And in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, we should be inspired by the example they set in their valiant service to be devoted to the work of making the United States a truly great country, by upholding our values and working for their full realization for all people, so that, under God, this country will truly experience freedom to the fullest, as God grants us freedom.

Committing ourselves to this work day after day is truly a fitting way to honor the great sacrifices we remember every year on Memorial Day.