Published: May 12, 2008 12:33 pm      

A day of remembrance | RALPH COUEY

BY RALPH COUEY

STARSHIPPACIFICA@HOTMAIL.COM

If you were to ask a stranger, particularly a younger one, “What is Memorial Day?” it’s likely you would receive the answer, “The official beginning of summer.” It’s a natural answer, since it coincides with the end of the school year in most parts of the country. The real meaning of Memorial Day has been somewhat lost in the shuffle, a victim of cultural am-nesia, or perhaps just neglect.

In 1868, Gen. John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization of Union Civil War veterans, proclaimed

May 30 as the day “…designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country ..., and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.”

Initially, it was known as Decoration Day. The first state to officially recognize the commemoration was New York in 1873, and by 1890 it was recognized by all the former Union states. The South, not surprisingly, refused to acknowledge the day, keeping to its own schedule for honoring the Confederate war dead, a tradition that continues to this day.

However, after World War I, the meaning of the day was changed to honor Americans who died fighting in all wars.

Memorial Day was made official in 1971 by Congress, adjusting the day to the last Monday in May.

On Memorial Day, we remember the fallen. For too many families, there was no joyous homecoming; only the memories of the loved and the lost. There are no words, no magic phrases that could possibly ease their pain. For the husband or wife looking at a wedding ring through a veil of tears; for the parents who stood in the doorway of a silent, empty bedroom; for the child who struggled to understand why Daddy or Mommy didn’t come home; for the friends, the co-workers, the neighbors who have felt that aching void in their lives; for all of them, we as a nation have shared their grief.

All over this country there are memorials to those who have given their lives for freedom. But I’ve always felt that the best memorial to those who went before is the sense of purpose in the lives of those who continue on. If we take the best of what they were and make it the best of what we can be, then a part of those who sacrificed will continue to live on through us.

To say that much of the original intent of Memorial Day has become neglected is to engage in understatement. Starting with Vietnam, war became solely a political issue instead of an act in defense of freedom or an element of national survival.

And with that fundamental change, even the simple act of honoring those who, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “…gave their lives so that this nation might live” became soiled with the stain of partisan politics.

While most of us will revel in recreational activities, others will go about the duty of remembrance. They do this not for themselves, but to honor those whose sacrifice has honored America. It is a renewal of the solemn promise made to those who were lost: We will never forget.

The issues that divide the people of the United States have become wounds that are deep and continue to fester.

Many despair that we may never again be one nation, indivisible. Only time will tell. But whatever views one has on war, we should still take the time to honor those who served and who paid the ultimate price in the service of freedom. For if we forget the reasons they served, and the prices they paid, rest assured America will almost certainly pay that price again.

Ralph Couey is a freelance writer living in Somerset. He is an occasional contributor to The Tribune-Democrat.