Margaret Brackett

Contributing Columnist

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“This day marks the beginning of summer, and what could be more fitting tribute to men and women who died in service to their country than the day that gives birth to a season filled with warmth of life.”

Memorial Day is a unique national holiday, if not the most important day of patriotic observance. It can certainly be argued as the most solemn day we set aside for recognition.

This is a day of personal sorrow for those who have lost loved ones in uniform. But it is also a day for the nation to mourn, to show our collective national pride, and to illustrate our appreciation for this almost unbearable sacrifice. We honor these brave warriors by not forgetting them. We honor them by not taking for granted what they did for us.

This month, we remember.

Memorial Day is a day of mixed emotions. It is a day for reflection in honor of all soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who made the ultimate sacrifice throughout our history. The number is truly staggering. More than one million men and women, accounting for those full-time professional and Reserve Component warriors have fallen in battle.

I don’t think it is possible to truly grasp what that loss really means, but it should be obvious to every American that this sacrifice deserves much more appreciation than we could possibly demonstrate on one day a year.

This is a day of personal sorrow for those who have lost loved ones in uniform. But it is also a day for the nation to mourn, to show our collective national pride, and to illustrate our appreciation for this almost unbearable sacrifice. We honor these brave warriors by not forgetting them. We honor them by not taking for granted what they did for us.

Tradition is a special part of this holiday, which dates back to the Civil War. As the battle raged, Confederate widows and grieving family members began placing wild flowers on the graves of their loved ones. They also did this for the Federal soldiers buried in their states, as well, and a similar custom arose in the North around the same time.

In May of 1866, just one year after the conclusion of the war, a shop owner in Waterloo, N.Y., the then commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, asked fellow Civil War veterans to place flowers on the graves of fallen comrades on May 30 as a gesture in keeping alive memories of fallen soldiers and sailors.

These acts of gratitude and appreciation became known as Decoration Day. By 1882, Decoration Day became known as Memorial Day, and the holiday broadened to honor service members from all America’s wars. In addition to decorating graves with flowers and wreaths, citizens also held parades and listened to speeches and the playing of taps.

As American citizens we try to comprehend our fallen heroes’ immense sacrifices. Those who have seen or experienced the horrors of war first-hand have no need to use their imaginations. They know too well the nasty, dirty business of war. But it is important for the rest of us to place ourselves in the shoes of those who have faced the terror of combat. Only with such empathy can we begin to appreciate the sacrifices that we honor.

Though the enemy may change and the venue of battle may vary between land, sea and sky, the grim experiences of war remain constant. Today we see mostly young adults, barely having come of age, facing their duty with little complaint. While those who have died tried their best to hide their fears from home and fellow warriors, they went into battle scared.

But still they went, and in a flash of violence and horror — whether they had time to realize it or not — they made the grand sacrifice. Could we ask for greater heroes?

America adequately preserves the memory of these valiant men and women and the gifts they secured for our country through memorials, such as monuments or a periodic observance. It is within our power to keep them alive, in fact, it is our debt.

It is a tradition to fly the flag of the United States at half-mast from dawn until noon on Memorial Day. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials to honor those who have died in military service. This day is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season for cultural events. Memorial Day is by tradition observed on the last Monday in May.

Margaret Brackett is from Newberry. Her columns appear weekly in The Newberry Observer.