(Questions provided by www.britannica.com)
1. What was the original name for this day to recognize those who had lost their lives in military service to country?
2. What flower is associated with Memorial Day?
3. In what year was the National Moment of Remembrance—when all Americans are to pause for a minute of silence on Memorial Day—first observed?
4. Which U.S. sporting event is traditionally held every year on Memorial Day weekend?
Amidst the day at the lake or in the park of wherever your family gathers on Memorial Day, find the time to share with the young members of the family what this federal holiday recognizes. Unlike Veterans Day, which is inclusive of all servicemen and servicewomen who have enlisted in our armed forces, Memorial Day specifically acknowledges the sacrifice of lives lost during conflicts in which our country has been involved, from the Civil War to the present time.
Aging World War II veterans and Vietnam Veterans especially will be mindful of those who did not have the chance to live see their children reach adulthood. Many recent veterans of war came home and have become ill and died from cancers caused by Agent Orange or burn pits in Middle East desert areas. Sadly, many veterans have died by their own hand, often the result of complications from PTSD.
Some who died in service to our country are still coming home. Just next month, the remains of Patrick Lloyd Chess will be returned and buried next to his parents in Yakima, Washington. The U.S. Navy shipfitter was only twentyfour and stationed on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Researchers used DNA to confirm Chess’s identity, who was reported Missing in Action in a telegram to his family in 1941.
Enjoy your barbecues.
Eat those hot dogs.
Wave your flags.
And also factor in some somber time to share what Memorial Day truly represents.
President Lincoln spelled it out so eloquently when dedicating the cemetery at Gettysburg, where over 7,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed in just three days (July 1863): “…From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
ANSWERS
1. Decoration Day
2. Red poppy
3. The year 2000
4. Indianapolis 500 auto race
Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thought-provoking commentary appears occasionally in several West texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.
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