Memorial Day Weekend Reminder

It’s about the military service members who went down range and didn’t come back.

I can talk about this because at one time, I honestly did not know the true difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day.

The day I realized the difference was a pretty profound day.  I’ll forever owe a debt of gratitude to a former co-worker for it — he knows who he is.

Ever since then, I’ve developed a bit of a pet peeve about it, though.

When I see or hear folks conflating the meaning of Veterans Day and Memorial Day, I get downright bothered about it.  Often enough, I see Memorial Day being turned into another “day for all veterans”.

It isn’t.

Perhaps we don’t say “thank you” to our military veterans enough, but this is different.

I recall stories I’ve heard from friends who lost friends “over there”.  I remember noticing the looks on their faces — almost as if they were experiencing the loss all over again.

This weekend, we remember the folks who got in the mix, where the bullets were flying and the bombs were falling.  The folks who actually lived what I can only imagine.  They lived it, but it took them from us.

I hope you can take a little time to reflect on one of our lost heroes this weekend.  Have a great Memorial Day.