Can I vent a little here?

I hurt a little every Memorial Day. My brother was killed in Vietnam in '69. It's been 41 Memorial Days since I last saw him alive. And for 41 Memorial Days I have wondered why we keep trying to turn this day of remembering the DEAD into another Veteran's Day or a day to honor those who are alive and serving. Memorial Day is a day for remembering the fallen . . . the dead.

I certainly do thank our soldiers who are giving their time, their limbs, and their mental health to protect our freedoms . . . don't get me wrong. I have to add, though, that my pain is made a little more intense by the fact that those serving during the Vietnam War were not regularly applauded and called heroes . . . in fact it was quite the opposite for many who suffered being spit on and derided. What a change we see today . . . .

I don't mind that the day is known for picnics and boating and baseball games at the park. If you want to spend it honoring veterans and current service members, so be it. But don't forget what the day is about . . . the DEAD.

In my case, one among over 85 thousand dead . . .

"In Flanders Field, the poppies grow..."

I always think of Gary Whipple on Memorial Day. He sat next to me in study hall. He wore corduroy slacks, crew neck sweaters, and loafers; he had dark curly hair and almond eyes.

I will always remember opening a letter from my mom in December 1968 and finding the clipping that PFC Gary Norman Whipple had been killed in action in South Vietnam. I was 18 years old, and I've always said that I grew up in that moment. How could someone who passed notes to me in study hall be killed in a war?

Rest in peace Gary...and Terry...and all the rest.

Blessings2You . . .for you . . .

http://www.virtualwall.org/dw/WhippleGE01a.htm


And thanks. I still hear from families that fed Terry's incredible appetite when he would stop by for a visit to see their daughters, or shoot hoops with their sons. I recently heard from another soldier who rode on Terry's tank just moments before being told to get off, only to see it hit the landmine and become a torched piece of metal. I was blessed to hear that Terry's last mission was a medical-evacuation and supply support mission, and took him through a beautiful sun-kissed valley just after a rainy monsoon morning. He truly died saving lives . . .

(((((Lefthanded)))))

I hear/feel your vent. I was fortunate that no family members have died serving in the military. My husband retired three years ago after serving 28 years.

I have two young men that both touched my life ..that served their country so proudly ... "Tex" was killed in the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut in 1983 and Pfc Hutchinson was killed when an IED his hit armored vehicle in Mosul, Iraq..Dec 2003.

My dad served. my husband served. my son served. All came home safe. DH and I were watching TV and they started talking to live soldiers about it, and DH jumps up and starts to leave the room, spouting...its MEMORIAL day, meaning to remember the fallen*edit* and he left the room still ranting about how the media messes up a one car funeral. Shesum crow, just remember our dead, our fallen our brothers who didnt come home! Is that so hard! and I heard the kitchen door slam. So...he must feel the same way as you do. I have to agree. We have become so media frenzied that we forget what we are talking about.