A constantly evolving annual re-post.
For the 16+ years I've been blogging, I've tended to wonder how many more of any holiday that our republic will survive to see, but this one is the hardest to come to grips with. Memorial Day is the day to honor those who fell fighting to preserve the republic and if Memorial Day falls, that's dishonoring every one of them. Every one of them gave themselves, their lives, their futures, for something bigger than themselves.
It's not just "the greatest generation" that saved the west in the all out war of WWII; it's all of them, from those who fought in the first battles of the Revolution on April 19, 1775, (commemorated as Patriots' Day but some states shift the date to get a Monday Holiday) to those who were lost in Bumbling Biden's disastrous abandonment of Afghanistan, and those lost since then. We include losses from training accidents as well as actual enemy action.
For most people, Memorial Day is the semi-official Start of Summer, and it's a rare year indeed that it doesn't feel fully like summer by Memorial Day around here. The day tends to be marked by barbecues, trips out on the boat, or other outdoors activities. Let me join the chorus of folks saying that while you're enjoying your day, take a moment to remember or think of and thank those who gave their all in service to us. The ones who don't get to mark the holiday with us.
I say that in the belief that those who made that sacrifice wouldn't hold it against us to have a little fun on their day.
In the life of this blog, now in my 16th year, there's only a small number of pictures I've reposted many times. Two of them are Memorial Day pictures and I just have to conclude they hit me in a way that others haven't. I'm going to repost those today.
The first, at least to me, is the more unexpected. The main interest in this photo isn't a spouse or a child; it's the fallen veteran's dog. A dog just isn't generally expected to have feelings this deep.
In a final act of loyalty, Hawkeye, the dog of slain Navy SEAL U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson walked up to his fallen master’s casket during the funeral in Rockford, Iowa, and then laid mournfully down beside the body for the rest of the proceedings. [Note: Petty Officer Tumilson was one of the 30 killed in Afghanistan in the shoot down of Extortion 17 which the families blamed squarely on the Obama administration - SiG]
Far too large a portion of the Deep State could use Hawkeye's loyalty. There are signs that's improving; only time will tell if it's temporary or not. The others could use to ponder showing less humanity than a dog.
The second one is a person, the widow of an Army Sargent buried at Arlington
National Cemetary.
If I read that correctly, Ms. Sayne was visiting her husband's grave when taps sounded from another funeral in process, causing her to almost roll up into a little ball. Her pain is palpable in the picture. I can feel her pain.
Memorial Day is personal. I am blessed to not have lost friends or family in the wars and "actions" that have taken place in my 71+ years in this country, but that doesn't mean I don't see things like this and feel the pain, along with the gratitude and appreciation.
Around Castle Graybeard, the weather has been relatively mild and dry for late May, but looks to take a turn to the stormy side on Thursday afternoon, when the chances of rain step up quite a bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment