Monday Morning Musings - Memorial Day

Here in the U.S. we are celebrating Memorial Day, a day that we honor those who died in service to our country.

I thought it would be nice to meet veterans who are remembering their comrades who died in battle. We are quickly approaching the time when there will be no more WWII veterans, so I wanted to link to this story by Wes Venteicher in the Chicago Tribune about Bill Howland. He was a medic, even though he had no previous medical experience, which was common back then. He said he sometimes talks with local high school students during history units on World War II and 1940s Europe.

"I try to prevail upon them to implore our government to stay out of wars … we have more important things to do than shoot people up all over the world," he said.

When I read that quote, I couldn't help but think of this wonderful song by Pete Seeger. It's one of my favorites, and we sang it a lot at hootenannies in the late 60s.
 


Here is another interesting article from Samantha Grossman in Time Magazine, where she shares seven things we might not know about Memorial Day.

And with that I am signing off for the day. I hurt my back yesterday, so my computer time is limited.

Remembering Those Who Served

Today, we in the United States pause to remember those soldiers who died in service to their country. Someone recently asked me if I had ever served in the military. We were talking about the legacy of military service in our families, and she was one of those who did serve.

I have not, and I can't imagine what it would be like to be in combat. Most of the people I know who have served don't want to talk about their experiences.

Those are the ones who survived.

There are too many who have not. And too many families who grieve.

Yesterday at church a woman prayed for her son and four of his comrades who were all killed at the same time in Afghanistan several years ago. Her pain was so real it brought tears to my eyes. Then a fragment of a song by Peter, Paul and Mary came to mind:

                          Where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?
                          Where have all the soldiers gone, long time ago?
                          Where have all the soldiers gone?
                          Gone to graveyards, everyone.
                          Oh, when will they ever learn?
                          Oh, when will they ever learn?

Lyrics | Peter, Paul & Mary lyrics - Where Have All The Flowers Gone lyrics

When will we ever learn?