“Remembering?”

~ Elizabeth

In the United States today is Memorial Day. We set two days aside each year to remember the casualties, living and dead, of the wars Americans have fought. The other is November 11 originally Armistice Day but since 1954 Veteran’s Day. Both theoretically are somber occasions to be observed by the country as a whole, recognizing the sacrifices members of the military have made on our behalf. At our church service the Sunday closest to each observance ends with a prayer and a solemn playing of “Taps.” Yesterday I stood thinking about the effects of all those wars on the people around me in the pews.

But if not for that service I would be hard pressed to know why the day matters. Every headline announces “the start of summer,” “get out the barbecue,” “buy your pool for our special price,” and “be extra careful on the highways.” Apparently the day’s significance has been transformed into something else entirely.

I wonder if this has happened since we abolished the military draft. Growing up I knew many veterans of wars including the Spanish American, the first World War, the second World War and the Korean War. Boys my age assumed they would be drafted and sent into combat should there be another war. Then the conflict in Viet Nam pressed them into service.

There is no longer a national draft. Unless one chooses the military, it is possible to avoid any involvement in future conflicts. “Other” people can fight. Perhaps when those “other” people die a huge distance develops between us. In 2023 many fewer Americans risk their lives for our country. The idea seems foreign. Why think about war and its cost?

Most Americans seem ready to spend the day in leisure, not in remembrance. Maybe it’s time we retired the name “Memorial.”

16 thoughts on ““Remembering?””

  1. God forbid that we should ever need to reinstate the draft/conscription. However, it will be a sorry day if we cease to have formal recognition and remembrance of those who have served, and died for, their country.

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  2. You have stated sad facts, and I agree with you. None of our neighbors are out shopping today, and we will eat together outside. We always talk about people we know who died in war, though there are not many.

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  3. We have ‘Remebrance Sunday’ in November, because of WW1.
    I was never in the Army, so I take some time to think of their (mostly uninformed) sacrifice for my country. I just wish our hateful (current) government politicians did the same.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  4. Hi Elizabeth, of America needed soldiers, the draft would be brought back. A lot of Americans seem to take Memorial Day and it’s significance very seriously. I suppose it is the youngsters who don’t but they have never known hardship. Unfortunately, a baptism of fire for them may be in the close future.

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  6. You make valid points, Elizabeth. In our time, when the draft was eliminated, it seemed to trigger an attitude of forgetting, not remembrance. I also think when we are not at war (thank goodness), it is far too easy to forget. We remember because our parents and grandparents were ‘there’. Our children and grandchildren know stories, but they must seem far away to them. I will always invite veterans into the classroom, teach patriotic songs, learn about the flag, and teach children to say ‘thank you’ to those who serve.

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  7. As the gap between what happened long back and the present increases, the feeling of connection becomes less. Here also I think our freedom fighters, known and unknown, will be just names for the present generation.

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