Today is Memorial Day, 2011. At the beginning of this month, our men in uniform completed a long mission to find and bring justice to one of the most hated and wanted men ever to live. As usual, it was executed with exact precision, total effectiveness, and without regard for personal safety. Courage, commitment and skill(sorry for breaking up the alliteration!) can be found in all these men. We won't ever know who they are, and they are likely cool with that. There are hundreds of thousands of other men and women who are their comrades. Most won't go on a high-profile mission. Some won't come home. Some don't even get exposed to the "normal" dangers we think of for the military.
I personally know about 3-4 people in the military, and a few more through parents and friends. These people are tough, driven, and a fight doesn't scare them. I often wonder what the military would have done with me if the draft were still around when it was my time. My dad worked an office job in the Army, stationed for awhile in Germany. They need support staff too. I probably would have ended up in something like that.
My step-dad still talks of his experiences in the Army, both state-side and in various places in WWII. I have been fortunate to watch in person the arrival of a fallen local serviceman. It was an emotional and hearwarming experience to see all the people there at the Sugar Land Airport, lining the highway. Dozens of Patriot Guard motorcycles welcoming Garret Gamble back home.
One of my wife's uncles was also a WWII veteran. He had plenty of stories to tell as well, and a few pieces of memorabilia, if you know what I mean, from his duty there. He died last year.
I think we forget what Memorial Day means. It's not hard, with all the marketing that goes on. Some of us are maybe just looking for a day off. Our lives are busy and fast, and we just need slow it down a little, to remember that this is a day to remember those who have served our country in its uniforms. Whether on the battlefield, or as support. Fighting for our own freedom, and frankly, that of others too. Some died in their service, others after a long fruitful life. So if you know of somebody like my dad, Robert Sr, or Uncle Marvin, or Sugar Land's Lance Corporal Garrett Gamble, think of them, what they did, and what we have to show for it today, Memorial Day 2011. Pray for those in service now, and their families here at home. They are why the Stars and Stripes are flying high and proud.
