"Memorial Day: Pass It On, Lest We Forget"

by, Angela Kaye Mason

The last Monday in May is celebrated by people all across the United States of America with cook outs, barbecue, picnics, and more. A ceremony is held in Arlington National Cemetery, where many who have fought for America's freedom have been laid to rest, flags all over the country are lowered to half mast, and a country pauses, amidst the celebration, to whisper a "Thank you" to all of those fallen. This day is called 'Memorial Day', and it is a day of remembrance, to honor courage, dedication, those who have fought to protect America's freedom, and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, as well as to their families, who sacrifice so much of themselves and their lives so that we can be free.

Union General John A Logan first began the tradition known as 'Memorial Day' in 1868 when he set aside a day known then as 'Decoration Day' in order to honor the fallen civil war soldiers by decorating their graves. Within twenty years, the day came to be known as 'Memorial Day', and grew to be a day to honor all of the fallen heroes of the United States Military. 'Memorial Day' became a national holiday in 1971, and the last Monday in May was set aside to celebrate this honorable occasion.

At the first Decoration Day celebration, General James Garfield gave a speech at the Arlington National Cemetery, where a ceremony is now held annually to honor those heroes who served in the military and those who gave their lives for this country. During the first ceremony, five thousand people showed up to decorate the graves of over twenty thousand Union and Confederate soldiers who are buried at the hallowed location. It is now customary for the president or vice president to give a speech and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during this occasion. There are usually around five thousand Americans in attendance.

In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, who gave an address which was delivered for Memorial Day on May 30, 1884, at Keene NH. "So to the indifferent inquirer who asks why Memorial Day is still kept up we may answer, it celebrates and solemnly reaffirms from year to year a national act of enthusiasm and faith. It embodies in the most impressive form our belief that to act with enthusiasm and faith is the condition of acting greatly. To fight out a war, you must believe something and want something with all your might. So must you do to carry anything else to an end worth reaching."

I decided to end this article with a poem I wrote, to thank everyone who has ever sacrificed so that I can be free, some who died in that service, and others who live on. Among those I know personally, my grandfather, Gordon W Shelton, US Navy at Pearl Harbor; my brother, Andrew B Radford, US Marines; Benjamin H West, US Navy, Steven D LePage, US Navy,Ronnie D Lanier, US Air Force and Marines; Ronnie P Mason, US Marines; Keith Brinson, US Air Force,  and  many more. Thankfully, some of you are alive to hear my thanks. A full list of those heroes who fell while fighting for everyone one of us in America, in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom please go to this website. http://militarytimes.com/valor/
For a list of those who gave their lives at Pearl Harbor, visit this website, http://www.usswestvirginia.org/ph/phlist.php

"Pass It On, Lest We Forget"

Amidst the graves at Arlington,
The people gather round,
To honor those who've fallen,
So that freedom can be found.

And families with a heart of pain,
Place flowers on the way,
The sacrifices that they live,
So honored on this day.

A little boy holds Daddy's hand,
Looking up with confused heart,
He doesn't understand the tears,
Just as the service starts.

And staring at the marble,
Where a fallen soldier lays,
The boy pulls daddy's hand,
Not knowing what to say.

They celebrate with heavy heart,
This freedom that we share,
As a father bends to whisper,
"A hero lies right there."

by, Angela Kaye Mason. Thank you to everyone who has ever sacrificed, served, and fought for my freedom, and to their families, who sacrifice so much and are so often forgotten...May God bless you all....Pass it on, Lest we forget.