This weekend is the unofficial start to summer, the first long weekend, the first backyard BBQ. This weekend is also Memorial Day. The weekend that we remember those who died while serving their country. Take time this weekend to remember all of them. Don't worry about whether you agree with the war they fought, just concentrate on the fact that they served their country and served it well. They left spouses and children, parents and siblings and nothing can bring them back but every year their families remember them and we should too. Remembering keeps them alive. This weekend go sit in a military cemetery among the white headstones, visit your local memorial, send a poppy into the wind, read "In Flanders Field" or read the eulogies written here. Never forget how we got here and how many lives were cut short to protect you and me.
The above photo is of the First Division Monument in front of the OEOB (now the EEOB) in Washington D.C. The First Division of the American Expeditionary Force was originally created during WWI and is still serving today. This monument, with "Winged Victory" on top, was erected to honor the dead of the First Division from WWI. Since then the names of those who died in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm have been added to the monument. In front of the monument is a bed of red flowers in the form of the number 1 because the nickname for the First Division is "The Big Red One".
233 years. Twelve wars. 654,901 dead.
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