Memorial Day
This is a picture from one of the columbariums at the Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place of many of those who served the United States since the middle of the 19th century.
That is my Father’s marker. He didn’t know those located around his marker, but they all shared service to their country as part of their life.
Last year on May 30th my uncle, Maynard Emhof, passed away. He was the last of my close family members who fought in World War II.
I have just learned that a first cousin, twice removed, [the grandchild of a first cousin], is in training for deployment to Afghanistan in the Fall.
The country continues to ask for service and people still respond to that call. As you think about the sacrifices represented by Arlington and other cemeteries, ask yourself if you have done what you could to prevent misuse of the willingness of some to serve.
It is rather for us the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us–that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion–that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
7 comments
Honoring your family’s service to our Country today.
Thank you.
cookie jill´s last blog post..hello from breath taking mesa verde national park
Cheers to all the fallen Warriors. My hope is that they are truly able to rest in peace.
I honor my grandfather and fallen friends each year. I used to feel… angry that I survived but good friends didn’t.
RIP all.
After a couple of hundred years, it gets to be normal in a family.
I’m surprised that the Dutch branch of the family decided to get involved, given that they left the Netherlands to be done with the religious wars.
The Swiss branch made a lot of money fighting in those wars. Being neutral doesn’t mean pacifism.
Now the Norman English and Prussian branches were the sort that started wars, so nothing mysterious about them.
My mothers side were Scott’s & Celts! So no big surprise there. My fathers were mostly Italian, or Southern European/Mediterranean at any rate. 😉 So I cop it from both sides. 🙂
You do what you have to do, and you hope you do it right.
Oh, yes, you always remember those that didn’t make it, and you spend a lot of time wondering why. It’s a question without an answer, but you ask it anyway.
I just came across this. One of the developers at Google Earth started a project to honer the fallen soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan. It’s a very interesting work.
Map the Fallen
I got there from Danger Room. A lot of work.