Memorial Day | R. Doug Wicker — Author

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May 27, 2013 · 5:35 am

The Meaning of Memorial Day

Normandy American Cemetery, France

Honorably discharged veterans of the military are frequently thanked on this day for their service to their nation. And although we are grateful for the thanks, veterans would like to remind you that Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day and also known as Remembrance Day to our Commonwealth Cousins) is the time to celebrate military service both past and present. Memorial Day is set aside to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of a grateful nation.

Overlooking Omaha Beach, Normandy

Memorial Day was originally conceived as Decoration Day in the immediate wake of the Civil War, and it formally commemorated the horrendous loss of life experienced by both the Union and the Confederacy.

Statue Titled: The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves Normandy American Cemetery

The true meaning of Memorial Day has been all but obscured since Congress changed the date of observance from May 30 to the last Monday in May so as to create a three-day weekend. Now, unfortunately, it’s seen more as a quasi National Barbeque Day and the unofficial First Day of Summer. As a result its true meaning has been obscured to many.

M4 Sherman Tank on Utah Beach

Veterans Day suffered a similar fate – moved to the fourth Monday of October – but in this case Congress acknowledged the dilution of that holiday’s true meaning and moved it back to its hard date of November 11 a few years later. Congress really ought to do the same with Memorial Day. To me, that’s a much more solemn occasion deserving of even more respect than Veterans Day.

German Gun Emplacement Overlooking Pointe de Hoc

On April of last year I had the solemn privilege of walking through some of the battlefields of the D-Day Invasion in Normandy, France. It was a pilgrimage I had wanted to make since I was a youngster of nine sitting in a darkened theater at an Air Force Base in Ohio watching the classic film The Longest Day. The pictures I took that cold day in April are what you’ve been experiencing throughout this blog.

Pointe de Hoc, Normandy

Below are a few more reminders of what we commemorate on this solemn occasion. Included in those photographs are the markers for Medal of Honor recipient Brigadier General Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt, Jr. who died just five weeks after he led the landing at Utah Beach, and his younger brother 2nd Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt of the 95th Aero Squadron (Pursuit), who also fell on French soil just two days shy of twenty-six years earlier — during World War I. They are two brothers separated by two World Wars reunited a quarter century later in hallowed ground in Normandy, France.

Normandy American Cemetery, France

Normandy American Cemetery

Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Normandy, France

2nd Lieutenant Quentin Roosevlelt

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Filed under Opinion Piece, Photography, travel

Tagged as D-Day, Memorial Day, Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Omaha Beach, R. Doug Wicker, Utah Beach

May 28, 2012 · 6:00 am

Lest We Forget—No, It’s Not National Barbecue Day

We seem as a society to forget what this weekend really commemorates. Memorial Day weekend does not mark the unofficial beginning of Summer, the end of the school year, or the weekend of the Indianapolis 500. It’s not about throwing Frisbees at the beach, flipping burgers, and downing a few cold ones.

And, no, we do not on this day thank a veteran. That is not what today is about, as we veterans should solemnly remind those who do thank us on Memorial Day. Today is a day of remembrance—remembering those who fell defending this nation and her allies during times of armed conflict. Thank a veteran on Veterans Day (formerly Armistice Day), but spend today remembering our fallen comrades in arms.

Those who followed my blogs on our most recent cruise foray will recall that we spent some time in the cool, damp drizzle at a cemetery in Normandy, France. That would be the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. It was a very moving experience, and I saw grown men reduced to quivering lips and teary eyes that day. If you’ve served in uniform then tears come easily while casting eyes upon this site. If you lost a friend or loved one who fell while in uniform, those tears come even easier.

This country has been at war now for the worst part of eleven years. We recently ended our direct military involvement in one war that did not serve our national interests, and we’re winding down another that did.

During this time, and for the first time in the history of this republic, we at home were not asked to make the sacrifices that other wartime generations have been called upon to make. Instead, we allowed politicians to tell us to take tax cuts, go shopping, and leave the fighting to an all-volunteer military force. We acquiesced to that relatively painless strategy, and left it to future generations to pick up the tab for our collective acts of irresponsibility. Meanwhile, we have allowed our political leaders to slash the benefits and much needed post-combat services of those who did volunteer, leaving them to cope on their own with injuries both physical and mental.

It is for those decisions that both history and future generations will condemn and curse us.

As you look over that sea of Crosses and Stars of David below, be grateful for those who sacrificed everything. But be wary of those who never wore a uniform, who declare themselves to be “Great Americans,” and yet who continue to advocate cuts in support to the families of the fallen and the services to veterans—all the while demanding that no sacrifices be asked of those who stayed at home. There is truly no greatness in such a stand.

And there never will be.