Today is Memorial Day in the United States. The day we honor and commemorate the men and women who sacrificed their life in service to our country. Most of us (I hope) are grateful to the members of our armed forces serving and protecting us. Many of us have family members who committed several years of their life, or even a whole career to the military. We should be thankful to all of them.
But, today, we remember the ones who did not come home.
I am fortunate that all of my family members who were in the military served their time unharmed. Most did not see combat. Although, both my grandfathers did. They were on the battlefields in Europe during World War I. That was a brutal war. Neither of them talked about it very much.
Sweet friends from my hometown lost their oldest brother in the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam war. I was only nine years old at the time and my parents didn’t discuss it in my presence. I think they wanted to shield me from the anger and political backlash that war engendered.
War has a profound effect on those who survive it. The atrocities they see, and yes, sometimes commit stay in their memory forever. Their mental and physical health may be permanently altered. Some former service members are so impacted by the horrors they witness that they turn to alcohol or drugs to deaden the memories. Many end up taking their own lives.
Why talk about this? Why focus on the pain, the sorrow, the devastation? Can’t we just watch a parade, have a picnic, wave a flag and soak up some rays? Enjoy the long weekend?
Because we owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to the men and women who gave their lives for America. We owe a humble thank you to all parents, spouses, siblings, and children who are reading names on flag posts lining Main Street. Names of loved ones they can never forget.
Can we pause just for a moment and say a prayer,
In memory of . . .
Laura
A Light for My Path 
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