Opinion : Why Americans need to take time to remember on Memorial Day

This coming Monday is Memorial Day. Memorial Day observances are considered to have formally begun in 1868, with the Grand Army of the Republic’s decree that the graves of Union servicemen who had died during the War of the Rebellion were to be decorated on 30 May, which was to be known as “Decoration Day”.

I am descended from soldiers and sailors who have served in the United States military since the War of 1812. One of my maternal great-great-great grandfathers, who served in the Union Army of the Cumberland, was permanently scarred and disabled on 25 November of 1863 in battle at Chattanooga, Tennessee. My paternal grandfather, who served in the South Pacific from 1942-1945, carried painful memories of the War to his dying day. This Monday, as I have done for many years now, I will tell my children the stories of their ancestors so that they may have some understanding of what it means to be an American. I will wear the replica uniform of my great-great-great grandfather, route step to the bridge with my children, and pay my respects with the others who gather there so that the sacrifices made that enable me to make that little march are paid honor. It seems fitting and proper to do that.

But as I stand at near that bridge, watching the procession, I note all the vehicles I see waiting to leave town. Some tow trailers. Some tow boats. Some wait patiently, while others’ agitated fingers drumming on steering wheels can be seen. It does not seem to me that any of them truly grasp the meaning of that day, regardless of what their bumper stickers and rear window displays proclaim about their patriotism.

I then reflect on the incessant advertising for Memorial Day sales—as if the blood of citizen patriots is a commodity businesses can bank on. I think of the overheard conversations of people, good Americans I know, who only view this weekend as “the start of summer” and have but a dim notion of what this day was supposed to mean. I see the bizarre contrast between a nation that trumpets the past while at the same time almost completely neglects it. I suppose in some way this does satisfy the portion in the Declaration of Independence that states one of our nation’s founding ideals is “the Pursuit of Happiness”, but I am not sure that was the intent of the phrase.

Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) has been introducing legislation to Congress to return Memorial Day observances to 30 May for over 25 years now. This legislation also asks that it be returned to a solemn day of remembrance, as it was intended in 1868, with no commercialism permitted or accepted. This bill has never yet passed Congress. This is a failure of both national political parties and is a disgrace bordering on criminality.

I respectfully ask, and urge, the readership of this publication to contact members of Congress on 30 May, both State and Federal, and ask that Memorial Day be restored to the proper date and dignity it requires. Act to make this happen by sincerely paying tribute to our fallen on Memorial Day; pass up the bargains and do more than just grill meat and drink beer. I ask and urge the readership to take time out of the day to fully consider and remember on this day “…those who gave the last full measure of devotion…that this nation… shall not perish from the Earth.”

Alexander Vasquez

Vinton, Iowa