Memorial Day and how to honor it.

My main blog site, bouhammer.com is having issues today and is not working properly. I don’t have the time today to work with GoDaddy to fix it so I am going to post my Memorial Day posting here first. I will get it up over there later once the Bouhammer site is back up and running.

I have said for years that this “holiday” is not one meant for the families of the fallen or the fellow servicemembers that served with them, because for those two groups of people every day is Memorial Day. 

This day is meant for the nation to take pause and honor, remember, and appreciate those fellow citizens who stepped forward and served, willing to lose their life for those they would never know. However, it’s not meant to be a day of mourning, in fact it’s kind of the opposite. I know this may seem confusing to many civilians, and much in the military community are to blame for that. 

For one thing, Veterans don’t appreciate people “thanking” them for their service on Memorial Day, as it implies people mix up the meaning of Veterans Day and Memorial Day. So after almost 19 years of war mixed with social media, to include blogs like this one, the angry voice of the veteran has been heard more than normal. Some don’t know how to take the “thanks”, while others consider this day of mourning, but to be honest and in my personal and humble opinion, this day is for honoring and celebrating. 

You can do both, and it’s quite easy. Many have done it at funerals if you think about it. It’s very common to have a funeral service in a church and then move to a burial at a graveside service, with all of that time filled with somberness, tears, and great sadness as people say goodbye to a loved one or friend.  Then when all of that is done, the people move to a reception afterwards full of food, laughter, and smiles (and probably a few tears still mixed in) to celebrate the life of the person that was just put to rest. Memorial Day is pretty much just like that, but on a National scale and in honor of people you will never know.

So as you can see, it’s possible be reverent and honorable, while still enjoying the freedoms, liberties and peace we have in this country. In fact, this year it is probably more important than ever to enjoy good times with friends and loved ones due to all of us in the US being forced to stay away from each other in the last 2 months. So enjoy those freedoms that so many died for, because not taking advantage of them and not enjoying them kind of makes the fallen’s sacrifice be for nothing. Our warfighters raised their hands, stepped forward and fell on a foreign land so you can have these freedoms, grill burgers and enjoy a cold beer or soda on this day and all days. This also means laughing and loving each other, but do it in remembrance of those that can’t, both the fallen and the families and friends they left behind.

I hope you have a Happy and Honorable Memorial Day. May their sacrifices never be forgotten or in vain. 

-Stew