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.”
Saved By Words 
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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I can’t imagine that we would be able to reinstate conscription. I agree with you about the sadness of not recognizing the casualties of earlier wars.
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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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I am glad to hear that it is quiet there on the day.
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Not one car was moving in our development while I walked Memorial Day morning. I thought that was an encouraging start.
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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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Politicians seem eager to avoid going themselves, just sending others.
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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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I can’t imagine how the young would react to a renewal of the draft. Here many didn’t even want to be told to have a covid vaccine.
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The problem with the youth is the lack of discipline. Oops, I’ve turned into my mother 🤣
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Well I agree with you.
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A sobering,thoughtful post.Thank you. Peace P&B
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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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Yes I realized the other day that the Viet Nam War was further away from my grandchildren than World War I was to me at that age.
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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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That makes sense.
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