Happy Memorial Day!
For readers in the United States, today is a day off – hopefully a good reading day! However, there’s so much more to it than that. Memorial Day has been a traditional summer party kickoff for so long that it’s become all too easy to lose sight of what it really is.
When I was writing for today, I thought about all the things I could do with this day. Perhaps write about war romances, or military characters and how their portrayals have changed over the years. We read pretty widely across both historicals and contemporaries, and I know we have plenty of examples. However, the more I thought about it, the more that seemed just a little too pale in the face of the sacrifices so many have made.
The military still makes up a very small percentage of the American population as a whole but they make contributions to our country far out of proportion to their numbers. I work in an area surrounded by military bases of various types, so I see the wounded personnel coming home, the families who have lost a father/son/brother/husband, and the veterans who are trying hard to get jobs or an education. So, while we’re enjoying the day, let’s also take some time to remember those who have died to protect us and if you know some veterans, please thank them!
A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. – Joseph Campbell
– Lynn Spencer
And remember also all the mothers, daughters, sisters and wives – those we have lost, and those who have had to carry on by themselves.
Thank you for this article. My husband’s career military and sometimes gets frustrated by what he perceives as lack of understanding form the civilian population. He never looses his sense of duty, though, and is instilling that feeling in our daughters. I foresee being a military mom. I’m very proud of him.
Beautifully stated! Thank you, Lynn, and thank you, veterans!
Lynn,
My son is currently in Air Force Weather School. My husband is spending Memorial Day watching nonstop war movies on TV, but I’ll be writing instead. I told him I don’t want to watch anything that will remind me our son’s life might someday be in danger!
Thank you, Lynn. That’s a lovely reminder.