otoh

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day to honor those who have died in Military service. For the last 35 years it has been celebrated on the last Monday in May and has come to represent the beginning of summer, the opening of public swimming pools, the first long weekend of the backyard barbecue season. Its original intent seems all but lost.

No one close to me has died in the military, but I had a cousin seriously wounded in VietNam and my father served in World War II. Dad enlisted in the army in 1943 at the age of 18, just out of high school. He never tells war stories. He has a few bits of memorabilia stashed in a closet that I’ve only seen once or twice. He mentioned recently that he started to read the book The Greatest Generation. He said he enjoyed Tom Brokaw’s introduction, but when he realized the rest of the book was war stories, he quit reading it. Yet, after he retired, he started attending some military reunions. Apparently, that was just an excuse to travel rather than any desire to relive old times.

I never considered joining the military. I graduated high school two years after the fall of Saigon so the patriotic climate was completely different from my father’s time. I never even had to register for Selective Service. For the most part, I consider myself a pacifist. I think though, that had I been drafted I probably would have served rather than being a conscientious objector. I’m really glad that’s a choice I never had to make.

I’m also really glad that there are still young people that do enlist in military service even if I don’t always agree with where they are sent. I respect their dedication and I mourn the loss of those who make the ultimate sacrifice. Today especially.

P.S. Shortly after posting this I heard the following tid-bit: In the opening credits of the TV show Gomer Pyle, USMC there is a scene with the title character trying to march in formation while Sergeant Carter berates him. I never knew that all the rest of the people in that scene were real marines and they shipped out not long after that was filmed. Many of them didn’t survive their tour of duty. For years afterward, Jim Nabors got letters from the families of those soldiers. They would watch the show every week and get one more look at their boys.

Hmmm.

Technorati tags: A Memorial~blog~personal~otoh